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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26359252">Percy Jackson and the Will of D</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/willoffire123/pseuds/willoffire123'>willoffire123</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson as a Strawhat [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>One Piece, Percy Jackson and the Olympians &amp; Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action/Adventure, Crossover, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:48:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>55,740</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26359252</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/willoffire123/pseuds/willoffire123</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Luffy wants to be King of the Pirates. Zoro wants to be the World's Greatest Swordsman. Nami wants to draw a map of the world. Sanji wants to find the All Blue. And Percy? Percy just wants to go home.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Franky/Nico Robin, Monkey D. Luffy/Roronoa Zoro, Nami/Vinsmoke Sanji</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson as a Strawhat [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1933531</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>151</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Luffy catches a fish</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was a balmy sort of day in the Grand Line. A bright and cheery-looking ship with the head of a lion puffed along at a lazy pace. This ship was home to quite the curious bunch of pirates.<br/>
Nami the navigator, with a bounty of 16 million berries, lounged on a cream-colored lawn chair, pouring over a faded yellow map as she enjoyed the sun. She took a sip of her lemonade, twirling the little pink umbrella as she set it down carefully next to the occupant of the other chair, her friend and archeologist, Nico Robin. Recently liberated from the World Government, not even her new bounty of 80 million berries was enough to worry Robin; no, she was going to sit in the sun with her friends and read her books to her heart’s content; bounty or no bounty.</p><p><br/>
“Nice day,” said Nami, idly fiddling with the corner of her map as she watched the boys chatting over fishing poles off across the deck.</p><p><br/>
“Indeed,” Robin said pleasantly, following Nami’s gaze to the boys.</p><p><br/>
Said group of boys consisted of Usopp, the sniper with a bounty of 30 million berries, Franky, with a bounty of 44 million berries, and, of course, their captain, Monkey D. Luffy, with a bounty of 300 million berries.<br/>
At the moment, Franky seemed to have just said something hilarious, as Usopp and Luffy were bent over in fits of hysterical laughter.</p><p><br/>
“I’m gonna catch a sea king!” Luffy declared, “I want sea king for dinner!”</p><p><br/>
“Yosh!” said Franky “That sounds Super!”</p><p><br/>
“Oi oi,” said Usopp, “wouldn’t the sea king knock Sunny over?”</p><p><br/>
“Then we’d put Sunny back again!” Luffy insisted hotly.</p><p><br/>
Robin shut her book and strolled over to the boys. Putting a hand on Franky’s hawaiian-clad shoulder, she leaned in and said “perhaps we should be a tad quiter, yes? We are next to the infirmary, after all.”</p><p><br/>
Franky and Usopp shared a collective gulp.</p><p>“Right, right,” said Usopp, “Chopper’s still in surgery.”</p><p><br/>
Nami watched Luffy go quiet, and decided to come and join her friends.<br/>
“Luffy, how long have you known Zoro?” she asked him calmly.</p><p><br/>
Luffy’s far-off eyes turned to her. “Huh?” he said stupidly.</p><p><br/>
“You two have known each other the longest, right?” she continued, “How long has it been?”</p><p><br/>
Luffy scratched his chin, his face red from the strain of thinking. “Maybe…a year? We set out together only a week before we met you.”</p><p>Nami sighed wistfully. “That was so long ago. We’ve all gotten a lot stronger since then, right?”</p><p><br/>
Luffy grinned. “Yeah! We have to be stronger cuz I’m gonna be the Pirate King!”</p><p><br/>
“And Zoro’s super strong!” Franky chimed in eagerly.</p><p><br/>
“Maybe even stronger than me!” Usopp said boastfully, “there’s no way some stupid warlord can take him down for good, especially if he’s got Chopper to fix him up again.”</p><p><br/>
“For once, he’s telling the truth, Luffy,” Nami assured her captain, “Zoro will get through this.”</p><p><br/>
Luffy grins again, “Shishishi, I know that!”</p><p>Nami bit her lip and shared a look with Robin as the boys return to their fishing. As had been the case for the past few days since their departure from Thriller Bark, Luffy’s smiles were as fake as plastic. Both women knew that nothing would change Luffy’s smile except Zoro’s recovery.</p><p><br/>
Meanwhile, Sanji the cook, with a bounty of 77 million berries, had holed himself up in the kitchen of the Thousand Sunny, busy cooking spinach and chicken frittatas for lunch. Brook, their newest, undead crew member, with a bounty of 33 million berries, sat at the bar, humming contentedly as he sipped a cup of milk.</p><p><br/>
“That smells heavenly, Sanji-san,” said Brook, “Oh! But I don’t have a nose! Skull jooooke!”</p><p><br/>
“You don’t need to keep doing that,” said Sanji, irritatedly cracking eggs into a pale blue bowl, “You’re a skeleton, we get it.”</p><p><br/>
“Sanji-san,” Brook said softly, “You shouldn’t beat yourself up over what happened to Zoro-san; it wasn’t your fault.”</p><p><br/>
Sanji crunched the final egg shell in his hand. “Of course it wasn’t my fault,” he said through gritted teeth, “That idiot-“</p><p><br/>
<em>“I got something!”</em><br/>
<em>“What the hell is that?”</em><br/>
<em>“Someone help Luffy!”</em>
</p><p>Sanji and Brook looked to the door.</p><p>“Shall we go see what’s going on?” suggested Brook.</p><p><br/>
Sanji was already headed for the door, “Sure. Maybe those idiots found something good for dinner.”</p><p><br/>
The skeleton and the cook emerge onto the deck to find everyone, save, of course, for Chopper and Zoro, crowded around something on deck.</p><p><br/>
“Oi,” said Sanji, stomping down the stairs to join them with Brook trailing behind, “Did you catch something for dinner or what…?”</p><p>Whatever Sanji wanted to say died in his throat. There on the ground lay a teenage boy. The boy was dark-haired, and deeply-tanned. He wore faded blue jeans, sneakers that were far too stained with Kami knows what to be considered white anymore, and a bright orange t-shirt. The shirt had writing on it, but none of the Strawhats could understand it.</p><p><br/>
Usopp poked the boy with his foot. “What’s wrong with him?”</p><p><br/>
Robin gingerly placed a finger against his neck, then a hand above his mouth. “Well he’s alive and breathing. He seems to simply be unconscious.”</p><p><br/>
“Small question,” said Sanji, “Who the hell is this?!?”</p><p><br/>
His hot question was met with several shushes.</p><p><br/>
“You’ll wake him up!” hissed Usopp, “what if he’s an enemy?”</p><p>“Chopper’s still in surgery,” hissed Nami, “Don’t make noise next to the door!”</p><p><br/>
“Luffy fished him out of the sea,” Robin explained.</p><p>“Hello, Stranger-san,” said Brook, poking the boy sharply in the cheek, “Please wake up now.”</p><p><br/>
“Brook!” said Franky, aghast.</p><p><br/>
“Too late,” said Robin, who was very amused at this point, despite the potential enemy on the ground in front of her, “He’s waking up.”</p><p><br/>
Sure enough, the boy’s brow had furrowed, and with a couple of small groans, he opened his sea-green eyes.<br/>
Silence.<br/>
“Um…” said the boy, “Hello?”</p><p><br/>
Before anyone could react, Luffy had pushed everyone aside. “My name is Monkey D. Luffy! I’m gonna be King of the Pirates!”</p><p><br/>
In reaction, the boy made a strangled yelp, and scrambled away from the Strawhats until his back was against the railing.</p><p><br/>
“Woah, woah!” said Nami, holding Luffy back by the scruff of his neck, “We’re not trying to hurt you; we come in peace.”</p><p><br/>
“ohmygods where the Hades am I?” the boy blurts at them, “who are you? And what strange language are you speaking?”</p><p><br/>
“Uhhh…Japanese?” said Usopp.</p><p><br/>
“You’re speaking it too, kid,” said Franky.</p><p><br/>
The boy blinked dumbly. “I’m speaking Japanese.”</p><p><br/>
“Yup,” said Luffy, “lemme go, Nami!”</p><p>In response to this, the boy brandished what looked like a ballpoint pen at Luffy’s nose, “stay away from me!”</p><p><br/>
“That’s a cool pen!” Luffy said eagerly, “You’re funny. Be my nakama!”</p><p><br/>
Nami, sensing the boy was actually considering jumping ship, shoved Luffy behind her. “I promise he means well, but if he’s scaring you, he can stay behind me.”<br/>
She turned to Luffy, “Right, Luffy?” she said while flashing her scary face.</p><p><br/>
Luffy gulped. “Yes Ma’am!”</p><p><br/>
“I’m speaking Japanese…”the boy said again, absolutely stupified by this information. He then groaned and slapped his face, “Oh gods…they did this, didn’t they?”</p><p><br/>
“Gods?” Robin said curiously, “Do you follow a polytheistic religion?”</p><p>The boy’s eyes narrowed, “I’m not having this conversation with strangers.”</p><p><br/>
“Well then, let’s introduce ourselves,” Nami said diplomatically, “My name is Nami, and I’m the navigator aboard this ship.”</p><p>“Robin,” Robin said with a small smile, “I’m an archeologist.”</p><p><br/>
“Usopp!” Usopp said proudly, “I’m the best sniper on the Grand Line!”</p><p><br/>
“Franky,” said Franky, “I’m a super shipwright!”</p><p><br/>
“I’m Sanji,” said Sanji, “If you’re hungry, you’re just in time for lunch; I’m making frittattas.”</p><p><br/>
“Yohoho! I’m Brook!” said Brook, “I’m a musician!”</p><p>“A talking skeleton?” the boy said weakly.</p><p><br/>
“Yes, yes,” Nami said impatiently, “we’ll explain that later. Now, we’ve told you our names.”</p><p><br/>
“Right,” the boy said nervously, “My name is Percy Jackson, and I think I’m really far from home.”</p><p><br/>
“Alright, Percy,” Robin said kindly, “Let’s take this inside, shall we?”</p><p><br/>
“Of course, Robin-chan,” said Sanji, following her up to the kitchen, “Come on, Percy, you must be hungry.”</p><p><br/>
Nami eyed Percy pocketing his ballpoint pen before sighing and following everyone else upstairs. Nami was about to follow when the door to the infirmary cracked open and Chopper slipped out.</p><p><br/>
“Chopper,” Nami greeted, “How is he?”</p><p>Chopper plopped down on the grassy deck. “Stable, for now. I packed him and left him open so his white blood cell count will have some time to recover enough for me to go back in. I can’t wait longer than an hour or two though; he’s fighting the sedative too hard.”</p><p>Nami whistled, “still? Even when he’s sliced open?”</p><p><br/>
Chopper sighed in frustration, “I know he can’t help it, but he’s got enough morphine in him to take out a giant and it still isn’t enough to keep him under for long. I need to work faster.”</p><p><br/>
“Come and eat something,” said Nami, guiding him off the ground and to the kitchen, “There’s someone you should meet, anyway.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Percy becomes a fugitive</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Percy was growing very tired of waking up in strange places.</p><p><br/>The last thing he remembered was going to bed in Cabin Three at Camp Half-Blood. Now he found himself sitting on a pirate ship, surrounded by the strangest people he’d ever met, eating a frittata.</p><p><br/>Though he had to admit, the food was amazing. He told the blonde man so himself, and Sanji rewarded him with a grin. “Glad you like it!”</p><p><br/>Percy still wasn’t used to speaking and understanding Japanese, likely an unwanted present from the gods themselves, but he decided he rather liked the language; it had a melodic lilt to it. Percy hoped that maybe when he found his way out of this predicament that the gods would let him keep this odd power.</p><p><br/>“So Percy,” said the red-haired woman, Nami, “Now that we’ve introduced ourselves and fed you, how do you feel about fielding some questions?”</p><p><br/>She said it innocently enough, but Percy had been through too much in his life to not be able to read body language. He knew that he wasn’t getting off that ship without either telling them what they wanted to know, or fighting them. They seemed nice, but if they really were pirates-Percy had watched enough cartoons as a kid to know what the skull and crossbones on their sail meant…Percy had to keep his guard up.</p><p><br/>“I guess so,” he said hesitantly.</p><p><br/>“For starters, what were you doing in the ocean?” asked Sanji.</p><p><br/>Usopp nodded, “We’re miles away from any land. Did someone throw you overboard?”</p><p><br/>Metaphorically speaking, Percy wanted to say that the gods had been throwing him overboard his whole life, but he held his tongue. “Would you believe me if I said I have no idea?”</p><p><br/>“That’s a hard thing to believe,” said Nami, “How do you have no idea how you ended up in the sea?”</p><p><br/>“Stranger things have happened,” said Robin.</p><p><br/>“Robin’s right, as always,” said Franky-the slight flush in Robin’s cheeks NOT going unnoticed by Percy, “It’s the Grand Line; we’ve seen way weirder.”</p><p><br/>Percy cocked his head, “The Grand Line?”</p><p><br/>At this, the crazy-hyper one, Luffy, perked up, “It’s the most amazingly fantastical sea full of adventure and the One Piece! We’re on it right now!”</p><p><br/>Nami brandished a fork full of eggs in his face, “Don’t change the subject! What DO you remember?”</p><p><br/>Percy held up his hands in a placating gesture, “Easy, easy, I wasn’t trying to change the subject; I’ve just never heard of the Grand Line. All I remember is going to bed. Next thing I know, I was waking up on this ship with all you fascinating people staring at me.”</p><p><br/>Robin giggled, “Where are you from, Percy?”</p><p><br/>“New York,” said Percy. This elicited puzzled looks from his new acquaintances, “Oh come on, you’ve never heard of New York?” he said queasily. If they’d never heard of the most famous city in America, and they were going on about a sea he’d never heard of…</p><p><br/>Well, like Robin said, stranger things had happened. And as always, it was probably the gods fault.</p><p><br/>Sanji sighed and gently tapped his cigarette against a dark-green ash tray. “Well, it’s like you said: you ARE far from home.”</p><p><br/>Percy slumped in his chair, “Yeah,” he said softly, “I guess I am.”</p><p><br/>Nami leaned back in her chair, “So what do you want from us, Percy? You are on our ship, after all.”</p><p><br/>“We could drop you off somewhere,” Usopp offered, making Percy smile in thanks, “Maybe there’s an island on our path where you can find something to help you get home, since you clearly don’t live on the Grand Line.”</p><p><br/>“For the right price,” Nami added, “For the right price, we can drop you off somewhere.”</p><p><br/>Percy gulped and scooted his chair back a bit, “You fished me out of the ocean; you really think I have any money?”</p><p><br/>“We fished you out of the ocean,” Nami agreed with a dangerous glint in her eyes, “What makes you think we can’t toss you back in?”</p><p><br/>At that, Percy rose from his seat, because pirates or not, they were at sea. Percy was the son of Poseidon, and that made him the most dangerous one on the ship. “You really don’t want to do that.”</p><p><br/>“Nobody’s throwing anyone overboard,” Luffy said with an air of seriousness that, in the brief time that he’d known him, Percy didn’t think the hyper boy was capable of, “Percy is going to join our crew.”</p><p><br/>“Luffy-san,” the talking skeleton-Percy definitely wasn’t over that yet- said hesitantly, “Are you sure that’s what Percy-san wants?”</p><p><br/>Percy knew that he’d do whatever it took to get back to Annabeth and his friends, but especially Annabeth. They’d only started dating officially a month ago; he couldn’t afford to go traipsing around what he assumed were some islands in or near Japan. But before he could tell that to Luffy, he felt it:<br/>the rippling in the sea underneath them that could only mean one thing: the approach of another ship.</p><p><br/>“Someone’s coming,” Percy murmured, concentrating on the feeling of steel cutting through water that made the tips of his fingers tingle.</p><p><br/>Usopp blinked, “wait, what? How do you know that? How does he know that…”</p><p><br/>No one was listening to him. For at that moment, what Percy assumed was the intercom crackled to life.</p><p><br/>“We’ve got incoming Marines!” roared Franky.</p><p><br/>Sanji and Luffy leapt from their seats and were out of the door before the others had registered what was happening.</p><p><br/>“The Marines are attacking us?” Percy said, bewildered, “But they’re the good guys!”</p><p><br/>“We’re pirates, Percy,” Nami said irritatedly, “To the Marines, we’re all bad guys. You’ll be arrested too for just being on our ship.”</p><p><br/>Percy cursed in Ancient Greek, causing Robin to shoot him a curious look. “So we have to take them out, right?”</p><p><br/>“Luffy and Sanji will take care of it,” Nami dismissed him while leading the rest of them out the door, “Our job is to protect the ship.”</p><p><br/>Percy, Nami, Robin, Usopp and Brook filed out onto the deck to meet the chaos unfurling all around them. Off in the near distance, Percy could see and hear heavy gunfire on a ship with the word MARINE stamped across the sail in massive, blue letters. If he squinted hard enough, he thought that he could see Sanji in midair kicking at massive waves of marines. Were his legs on fire?</p><p><br/>“Percy!” Nami barked, “We’re down two men and we need help defending the ship. Can you fight?”</p><p><br/>Before Percy had a chance to answer, Nami was charging down the stairs to meet the sword of a man twice her size with a blue baton. Brook was hot on her heels, whipping a sword out of his cane to slash Nami’s opponent across the chest. At least a dozen more men, all brandishing swords, charged at Nami and Brook and stopped as freaking arms grew out of their torsos and snapped their spines.</p><p><br/>“What in Zeus’s name is this…?” Percy said faintly.</p><p><br/>“Percy, Nami’s right,” Robin said urgently from beside him. Her hands were crossed in an X in front of her chest. Robin made fists with her hands and with a sickening snap, another dozen men went down as Percy realized with a sick fascination that Robin was the one generating limbs out of people’s bodies.</p><p><br/>“Percy!” Robin said louder this time, snapping Percy out of his revery, “Can you fight?”</p><p><br/>Percy clutched Riptide. He wasn’t sure how useful his sword would be in this situation, but he knew he had to try. “Yes!”</p><p>Robin eyed Percy’s pen curiously. What did he plan to do with a pen? She found out soon enough when Percy clicked the cap and the pen grew into a long, shiny, metallic baseball bat.</p><p><br/>“Nice bat,” Usopp called from somewhere just out of sight. Robin knew that while Usopp still struggled with being brave in fights, that for a sniper to truly be effective, he needed to be able to see everyone while also being seen by no one. If she looked up, Robin knew she’d see the tip of a long nose peeking out of the observation deck, knocking out random marines with well-aimed pellets from his slingshot.</p><p><br/>Refocusing on Percy, Robin’s curiosity for the strange boy heightened exponentially when he swung his bat at the nearest marine and the bat passed straight through the man as if he were a hologram. But before the marine could lob his head off, Percy was gone, rolling under his legs and scrambling back to Robin.</p><p><br/>“So my weapon’s kind of useless,” he said sheepishly, “Does anyone have a sword I can borrow?”</p><p><br/>Robin thought fleetingly of three swords sitting in the galley that certainly weren’t being put to good use anytime soon, but dismissed it at once; she would never betray Zoro’s trust by allowing a stranger to use his precious swords.</p><p><br/>“Your reflexes are good,” she said pensively while throwing marine after marine overboard with her extra limbs, “Do you see that door on the deck?”</p><p><br/>“Uh huh,” said Percy.</p><p><br/>“Keep an eye on it,” said Robin, “No one can enter that room.”</p><p><br/>“Do I want to know why?” Percy said faintly, “Nevermind; I don’t wanna know.”</p><p><br/>“Robin, we have incoming!” Franky hollered from the stern of the ship.</p><p><br/>The Strawhats have had enough practice with the Marines for Robin to know what that meant: the enemy ship was firing on them. She crossed her arms once more and erected a net of limbs that stretched to an impressive height-if she did say so herself- in front of the ship. The first volley of cannonballs smacked into her arms and bounced harmlessly into the ocean.<br/>Robin uncrossed her arms and winced; as always, cannonballs really hurt, but she didn’t have much of a choice; Sanji and Luffy were off fighting on the enemy ship.</p><p><br/>“Robin!” Franky called worriedly.</p><p><br/>Robin smiled faintly, “I’m ok.”</p><p><br/>She flinched at a calloused hand on her shoulder. Percy’s eyes were stormy with determination. “I’ve got this.”</p><p><br/>“Oh?” Robin said amusedly, “your bat suddenly works now?”</p><p><br/>“Haha very funny,” Percy waved her off. With a loud bang, the second volley of cannonballs hurtled at the Thousand Sunny. Robin, who was at this point quite intrigued by this strange boy, watched Percy close his eyes and frown. Then, a massive wall of water, at least fifty feet tall, irrupted from the ocean in front of the ship. The cannonballs struck the waterwall hard. Percy staggered, but the wall held.</p><p><br/>“What the hell?” Nami shrieked from the deck.</p><p><br/>“Now that I’ve got them,” Percy groaned, clearly not used to the strain of the waterwall, “Somebody wanna tell me what to do with these cannonballs?”</p><p><br/>“Throw them back! Throw them back!” Usopp hollered, and Percy obliged. With a gesture akin to throwing a shot put, Percy summoned tendrils of water from the wall to fling the cannonballs back at the enemy ship. Robin saw Luffy zooming back to the Sunny-Sanji clinging onto his shoulders for dear life- and knew that Percy had succeeded in making them turn around.</p><p><br/>“That was incredible,” Nami said in disbelief, “You could’ve told us you’re a Devil Fruit User, you know.”</p><p><br/>“Who’s a Devil Fruit User?” Luffy asked curiously as the two joined the rest of their friends.</p><p><br/>“Percy is,” said Usopp.</p><p><br/>“So that’s where that wall of water came from,” Sanji guessed, “That was really cool. But how do water-based Devil Fruits work, anyway? I mean, if you can’t go in the stuff you control…”</p><p><br/>“It’s a mystery Devil Fruit,” said Luffy, nodding as if he’d solved the Da Vinci code.</p><p><br/>“Guys,” Franky said suddenly, “Percy’s about to collapse.”</p><p><br/>Sure enough, Percy, who’d been swaying far too violently during this conversation to listen and register what the hell a devil fruit was, crumpled into Robin’s arms.</p><p><br/>“I’ll take him to Chopper,” Robin volunteered, “He should almost be done with Zoro by now.”</p><p><br/>Everyone broke apart. Franky, Brooke and Usopp scrambled to put the ship back on corse, while Nami, Sanji and Luffy followed Robin as she dragged Percy to the infirmary.</p><p><br/>“This the room you wanted me to guard…?” Percy said faintly.</p><p><br/>“Yes,” Robin said gently, “Now that you’ve fought with us, it’s high time you meet the last of our crew.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Percy meets Zoro</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Strawhats squinted at the bright, florescent light that hit them as soon as they opened the door. Chopper sat at his desk, so deeply absorbed in his reading that he apparently hadn’t even noticed the attack. Nami and Robin noticed, with disappointment, that Zoro was still breathing with the help of a machine beeping steadily at the head of his bed.</p><p><br/>“Chopper,” Nami said softly so as not to startle the little reindeer, “Can you fix Percy?”</p><p><br/>Percy smiled faintly at the reindeer doctor in greeting as Sanji and Robin helped him into a chair by Chopper’s desk. He’d only gotten to meet Chopper very briefly at lunch before the little reindeer had rushed off to check on a patient, but Percy had decided instantly that he liked the doctor; he was a talking reindeer, what wasn’t there to like?</p><p>“I’m fine, really,” he tried assuring the doctor, “I overdid it a little with the water wall. Using that much of my powers just takes a lot out of me.”</p><p><br/>Chopper frowned; Percy’s nose was bleeding, “It certainly seems like over exertion to me. Headache?”</p><p><br/>“Yeah,” said Percy, grateful for someone who understood.</p><p><br/>“I get those too when I use too many of my forms,” said Chopper, handing the boy two round, pink pills, “This should help.”</p><p><br/>“Is that a Devil Fruit thing?” asked Sanji, “Over exertion?”</p><p><br/>“Anyone can over exert themselves,” said Chopper, “It’s just easier to do so when you’re pushing your body to do things it was never meant to do.”</p><p><br/>“When I was little, my muscles hurt a bunch when I stretched too far,” Luffy piped up, “Is it like that?”</p><p><br/>“Yes,” Robin agreed, “I get the same muscle aches from time to time.”</p><p><br/>“Maybe a massage would help?” Sanji asked hopefully. He was ignored.</p><p><br/>Percy nodded at the bed. “So what’s wrong with him?”His question was met with an uncomfortable, sad silence.</p><p>Robin gave Luffy a tiny squeeze on his shoulder and he reluctantly said, “There was a fight. Zoro got hurt.”</p><p><br/>Percy scooched his chair over to Zoro’s bed. “I can see that.”</p><p><br/>Sanji slid forward to stand protectively in front of Zoro. “Whoah there, kid. You’re great and all, and you clearly saved our butts back there, but we still don’t know you that well yet.”</p><p><br/>“Sanji,” Luffy said sternly, “Leave him alone.” Reluctantly, Sanji complied.</p><p><br/>“If it’s ok with you guys,” Percy said hesitantly, “I think I can help your friend.”</p><p><br/>“How?” Nami asked curiously.</p><p><br/>“I need a bowl of water,” said Percy. For all his reluctance before, Sanji now provided Percy with the bowl without asking any questions.</p><p><br/>Everyone went quiet as Percy gently placed Zoro’s right hand in the bowl of water on Percy’s lap. Percy took a deep breath, and placed his hand on top of Zoro’s.</p><p><br/>Nami gasped-involuntarily, she would like to add- for as the Strawhats watched in amazement, the water rose out of the bowl and spread first up Zoro’s arm, then across his tanned chest, then around his entire body. Zoro yelled and shot up, letting the water soak him.</p><p><br/>“What the hell?” Zoro swore, “why am I wet?”</p><p><br/>Luffy laughed in delight, “Zoro’s awake!”</p><p><br/>Chopper shot to his feet to try and force Zoro to lie back down. Zoro pushed him off, insisting that he felt fine.</p><p><br/>“Who’s the guy on the floor?” was the first thing he asked. Everyone looked at Percy, who, having finally succeeded in making himself pass out, lay in a crumpled heap on the floor.</p><p><br/>“That’s the guy that apparently just saved your life,” Sanji explained as Luffy laid Percy out on the spare cot in the corner and Chopper started running every test he could think of on Zoro.</p><p><br/>“Incredible,” murmured Chopper, “You couldn’t even breathe on your own a moment ago.”</p><p><br/>As if noticing it for the first time, Zoro ripped the oxygen mask off his face, “I’m telling you, Chopper, I feel fine. No pain, no dizziness, no shortness of breath,” he added before Chopper could ask him the questions that an unfortunate well of experience allowed him to know by heart.</p><p><br/>“We’ll have to add healing to the list of Percy’s powers,” Robin said while checking Percy’s vitals. Apparently satisfied that the boy wasn’t about to die anytime soon, she stood back up, “It makes sense, really. Water already has incredible healing properties. Combine that with someone who can manipulate it?”</p><p><br/>‘You get a healer!” Chopper said excitedly, “Think of all the possibilities Percy’s powers can give us in battle when we run into the Marines again!”</p><p><br/>“Hold on,” said Zoro, “I know I only have like 5% of the story, but does this Percy guy even want to stay with us? And how did he get here?”</p><p><br/>The other Strawhats filled Zoro in on the short version, that Luffy fished Percy out of the sea, he didn’t remember how he got from his home to the bottom of the ocean, and he was looking for a way home.</p><p><br/>“He’s the reason we got away from the Marines just now,” Sanji admitted begrudgingly, “Dude has some serious moves.”</p><p><br/>“I don’t know,” said Zoro, eyeing Pecy warily, “He sounds like a lot of trouble.”</p><p><br/>“Did you not hear the part about how he’s the reason we beat the Marines without you?” Nami snapped, “Or that he just healed your sorry ass?”</p><p><br/>“And I’m not saying we should ditch him,” Zoro said hastily, “Just that we should be careful.”</p><p><br/>“You’re saying that the reason we found him at the bottom of the ocean…”Chopper said slowly.</p><p><br/>“is that someone put him there in the first place,” Sanji finished grimly.</p><p><br/>“It’s getting late,” Nami said after a moment of silence, “I say we sleep on it; maybe Percy will have remembered something about his attackers in the morning.”</p><p><br/>In a single-file line, the Strawhats, save for Zoro and Chopper, shuffled out of the infirmary to get ready for bed. Upon threat of sedation, Zoro had decided to remain in the infirmary so that Chopper could keep an eye on both him and Percy.</p><p><br/>Zoro bent over and picked up the strange boy, “He should get the real bed,” he explained to Chopper while laying Percy out on the bed upon which he’d been dying mere hours before.</p><p><br/>“It was really bad, Zoro,” Chopper’s voice wavered, making Zoro turn to look at the little reindeer, “You were dying. No matter what I tried, you were going to die. Then he-,” Chopper gulped, blinking back tears, “He brought you back. So if someone’s after him…”</p><p><br/>“You want to keep him safe,” Zoro said warmly, “I get it, Chopper. I promise I’ll make sure that whoever threw him into the sea regrets ever messing with him; I apparently owe him that much.”</p><p><br/>The two Strawhats’ musings taper off at a grunt from Percy.</p><p><br/>“Is he awake?” Zoro asked the doctor.</p><p><br/>“No,” Chopper murmured, taking Percy’s pale, clammy hand in his own, “No, he’s still asleep. I think he’s having a nightmare. Listen! What’s he saying?”</p><p><br/>Zoro listened to Percy muttering under his breath, but found he couldn’t understand a word of it.</p><p><br/>“Chopper,” said Zoro, “Go get Robin.”</p><p><br/>Chopper didn’t need telling twice, disappearing into the night, returning moments later with Robin, still in her day clothes.</p><p><br/>“Robin,” Zoro greeted, “What’s he saying?”</p><p><br/>Robin, who clearly had never gone to sleep, listened attentively as Percy’s mutterings reached a crescendo, “I-I’m not sure,” she said reluctantly.</p><p><br/>Chopper gasped, “Really? Even you?”</p><p><br/>“I think I recognize the language,” Robin said, almost defensive over her rare lack of insight, “But I don’t speak it.”</p><p><br/>“Well?” Zoro said impatiently, “What is it?”</p><p><br/>“It’s called Ancient Greek,” Robin said decisively, “It’s an older dialect of modern Greek. I’ve never even heard of anyone who speaks it. When I heard him say a bit of it earlier, I almost couldn’t believe my ears.”</p><p><br/>“Where does it come from?” Chopper asked in awe.</p><p><br/>“From a land far beyond the four seas,” Robin murmured, “This boy is very far from home.”</p><p><br/>“What do you mean, beyond the four seas?” asked Zoro, “Are you saying there’s more out there?”</p><p><br/>“I thought it was just a myth,” Robin admitted to the reindeer and the swordsman, “But Percy could be proof of it’s existence…a whole world beyond the West Blue.”</p><p><br/>“If his home is a myth to everyone here,” Chopper said slowly, “How’s he supposed to get home?”</p><p><br/>“We’ll figure it out,” Zoro said firmly, “We always do.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Percy lets the cat out of the bag</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Percy awoke sometime later with only a mild headache and a vague memory of the nightmare he’d just had. What had it been about? He remembered seeing Poseidon and Hera arguing.</p><p>
  <em>“There’s no time for this!” Poseidon argued, “War is coming, Hera! The children cannot face it without the help of my son!” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“When will you learn to trust me, brother?” Hera chastised, “Percy Jackson does not yet have all the tools needed to win. The Will of D shall aid your son in leading us to victory against the Earth Mother.” </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You’d better be right about that, sister,” Poseidon warned, “For our sake, and for his.” </em>
</p><p>Staring at the ceiling for a moment, Percy allowed his tired mind to catch up with the rest of his senses.</p><p>Oh, right.</p><p>Pirates.</p><p>Japan.</p><p>Marines.</p><p>Green-haired man. Percy wondered what had happened to him. He remembered healing the guy, then getting really dizzy. That must’ve been when he passed out. Gods, sometimes having powers really sucked.</p><p><em> “Get a move on, Seaweed Brain,”</em> he imagined Annabeth nagging in his ear, <em>“See the job through; make sure the green-haired guy’s ok.”</em></p><p>The world only spun a little bit as Percy staggered his way out of the cozy little infirmary onto the deck below. Most of the Strawhat pirates were spread about the grassy lawn, busying themselves with whatever it was that they did to pass the time. Percy saw Luffy, Usopp and Chopper perched on the ship’s railing, fishing poles in hand. The two girls were lounging on yellow and white lawn chairs on the upper deck, chatting quietly together. If he craned his neck, Percy could see the top of the skeleton’s afro peeking out from behind the tangerine grove. Finally, Percy’s target, the green-haired guy, was splayed out on the lawn just next to the door to the kitchen, seemingly asleep.</p><p>“Um…hi?” he said awkwardly.</p><p>Green-haired guy-Percy thought he remembered Luffy calling him Zoro- cracked open an eye. “Looks like Sleeping Beauty’s finally awake,” he grunted.</p><p>Percy’s eyebrow twitched, “You know what Disney is, then?”</p><p>Zoro raised an eyebrow, “What’s a Disney?”</p><p>Percy rolled his eyes, “Never mind.”</p><p>“Did you want something?” asked Zoro, “Cause if you don’t mind…I was trying to sleep.”</p><p>Percy snorted, “Whatever, man. I just wanted to ask you if you’re feeling better, but clearly my concern is unwarranted.”</p><p>Percy wasn’t sure why he cared so much. A few months ago, when Connor Stoll had accidentally shot himself in the foot with an arrow, Percy had discovered that if he guided water through pathways of energy that he could feel pulsing through the human body, he could heal most injuries. It felt a lot like holding a magnet to a human being and moving the iron filings around underneath. He’d very quickly realized how addictive it was-finding the broken puzzle piece in a person and putting it back together with water. Percy didn’t think he’d ever get enough of that feeling, so these days he found himself spending more and more time with Will Solace and the other Apollo kids, exploring the boundaries of his new power. Annabeth thought it was hilarious that Percy, the one who always ended up in a fight with anyone or monster that even looked at him wrong, liked healing people.</p><p>Zoro’s face softened, “Yeah, I am. I’ve been told I should be thanking you for that?”</p><p>Percy had the grace to look embarrassed, “Yeah, that’s a kind of new thing for me. You know, I didn’t really get to finish healing you before I passed out. If you ever feel like you’re in pain…”</p><p>“I’ll come see you,” Zoro promised, “Just don’t tell ero-cook.”</p><p>“You mean Sanji?” Percy asked curiously.</p><p>Now Zoro was the one to roll his eyes, “It’s a long story. Don’t ask the cook, or I won’t let you use your Devil-Fruit powers on me.”</p><p>Percy blinked, “There’s that word again. What is a Devil Fruit? Is that an insult?”</p><p>This made Zoro sit up. “You mean you don’t-,”</p><p>But whatever it was that he didn’t do, Percy wouldn’t find out, for at that moment, a fishing net descended over his face and yanked him to the ground.</p><p>The deck of the ship erupted in noise. With a roar, Zoro and Sanji charged at strange men in scuba suits who had snuck unnoticed onto the ship and taken the crew by surprise. Percy could’ve kicked himself. He must still have been out of it to not have noticed a dozen mortals swimming practically straight underneath him. Poseidon would’ve been so disappointed. He gave an experimental tug at the net holding him and a surge of energy so strong that it made his back arch and his toes curl shot through his hand.</p><p>“Percy!” Chopper cried in concern.</p><p>Percy glanced over to see that their assailants had captured Chopper, Luffy, Robin and Brook in nets just like the one that he currently sat in. The five of them had been lumped together like a pile of fish while the remaining Strawhats fought the intruders. Percy was about to ask why they in particular were in nets, or why the nets made him feel like he’d just inhaled 5 cups of coffee, or why no one was trying to break the nets, when one of the assailants shouted to get everyone’s attention.</p><p>“Enough!” he hollered in an annoying, nasally voice. Percy felt the cold barrel of a gun settle itself against his temple, “Your bounties go down when you’re dead, but this Devil-Fruit user doesn’t have a bounty yet! If you don’t surrender, Mr. Water Man here gets a bullet to the brain!”</p><p>While it probably wouldn’t feel very good, Percy highly doubted that his Achilles Curse wouldn’t protect him from a bullet to the skull. He was about to say as much to reassure his new friends, but with a growl, Zoro dropped his three, wicked looking swords. Nami, Usopp, Franky and even Sanji glanced at Zoro before following his lead and holding up their hands in surrender.</p><p>“Guys!” Luffy called faintly, “What are you doing? You need to fight!”</p><p>“But Percy!” Usopp shouted. Percy figured that now might be a good moment to be helpful, so with a twitch of his fingers, he summoned a water whip to wrap itself around the man with the gun’s leg, and, with no small degree of satisfaction, Percy flung him as far out to sea as he could. This caused most people on deck to shout at him in shock and confusion. Two more scuba men tackled his net and before Percy could protest, had tossed him into the sea.</p><p>The last thing he heard before disappearing into the water, besides his friends shouts of concern, was one of the scuba men saying, “He’s not worth it; knock out the rest of the Devil Fruit users.”</p><p>But if there’s one thing you shouldn’t do in a fight, it’s toss a son of Poseidon into the ocean. The water flowed through his lungs, invigorating him far more than the stupid net. Percy took a minute to cut the net and compose himself before willing a jet of water to lift him from the ocean.</p><p>It was time to end this fight.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which nothing is explained</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Percy using his powers from within a seastone net had been surprising, to say the least.</p><p>Nami gaped. Usopp leapt backwards. Sanji and Franky made startled, shouting noises. The Devil Fruit users were fighting too hard to stay conscious to say anything. Zoro was the only one who didn’t react. Taking advantage of Percy’s distraction, he lunged for the nearest bad guy.</p><p>However, these intruders must have been marines, because Zoro’s victim fainted left and promptly shot Zoro in the stomach. Half of the deck shouted Zoro’s name in concern, the other half shouted Percy’s, as two more marines had tossed Percy, net and all, into the sea.</p><p>Usopp groaned, anxiously shifting his target from one marine to another, “Someone needs to go after Percy!”</p><p>Sanji inched forward, but a wall of pistols aimed at his skull made him freeze.</p><p>“Let him drown, Black Leg,” a marine with a deep voice said calmly, “and maybe I’ll let you help Roronoa.”</p><p>“Zoro, I swear to Kami, if you keep almost dying, I’m going to increase your debt by 300%,” Nami swore angrily, backing up to stand slightly behind Sanji.</p><p>Zoro sank to the ground, clutching his side as if he were holding in his intestines, “Witch, that’s not important right now. Someone free the others; I’ll get Percy.”</p><p>The marines immediately all aimed their guns at Zoro, “Oh no you don’t,” sneered the one with the nasally voice, “The last thing we need is a water-based Devil Fruit User on deck. You’re going to let him drown and we’re going to bring all nine of you to Impel Down.”</p><p>“Then today must be my lucky day.”</p><p>The Strawhats gaped, open-mouthed as Percy Jackson, who should absolutely, at that moment, have been drowning at the bottom of the ocean in a seastone net, rose out of the ocean on a pillar of water, baseball bat held aloft. Percy growled, and, almost as if it were responding to Percy himself, the water underneath them churned angrily.</p><p>“Like I said,” Percy said lightly, “Today must be my lucky day, because I can’t drown.”</p><p>“Damn it, fire!” the deep-voiced marine said with a shrill, not so deep cry. Streams of water shot across the deck and grabbed the remaining marines by their waists.</p><p>“Unfortunately,” said Percy, lowering himself gracefully onto the deck, baseball bat swung casually over his shoulder, “I don’t really care if you can drown or not.”</p><p>He slammed the butt of his bat on the deck and the remaining marines went sailing over the Thousand Sunny to join their friend out in the ocean.</p><p>“Don’t worry,” Percy assured the stunned crowd, “Their ship is about 3 clicks south of here and I’ve got the water circulating underneath them; they’ll pick them up before they can drown.” Sanji and Franky set to freeing the captured Strawhats as the others rushed to Zoro’s side.</p><p>“You ready to cash in on that offer yet?” asked Percy, half-amused, half-concerned.</p><p>“Do I really have to ask,” Zoro grunted.</p><p>With a wave of his hand, Percy willed a stream of water to float from the ocean to Zoro’s chest. The water glowed blue, and Zoro sighed.</p><p>“This’ll take a second,” Percy told the others, “But while I’m doing this, maybe you can answer some questions for me?”</p><p>Seeing the others were too flabbergasted to speak, Brook took it upon himself to voice what everyone was surely thinking, “Percy-san, perhaps we could ask you some questions first? I’m sure everyone would like to know the nature of your impressive rescue.”</p><p>Usopp, Chopper and Nami nodded vigorously.</p><p>“Guys,” Luffy chuckled, “I TOLD you. It’s a mystery Devil-Fruit!”</p><p>“There’s my first question,” said Percy, never taking his eyes off his work, “What’s a Devil-Fruit?”</p><p>The Strawhats went quiet.</p><p>“You asked me that earlier,” Zoro spoke up, “Before the marines showed up.”</p><p>“Percy,” Nami said seriously, “I know you said you don’t remember how you got here, but do you remember ever eating a weirdly colored fruit?”</p><p>“And losing the ability to swim?” Chopper added.</p><p>Percy willed the glowing water around his hands to return to the ocean, “You should be ok now. The shot went all the way through your chest, but I’ve stopped the bleeding and stitched up the wound.” Percy stood and stretched, “Nope, I don’t think so. Was the fruit blue?”</p><p>“Maybe,” Nami said eagerly, “Did you eat it?”</p><p>“I like blue food,” Percy said absently, “But you still haven’t explained what a Devil-Fruit is.”</p><p>“And YOU still haven’t explained where you got your powers,” Zoro countered.</p><p>“Why do you care?” Percy snapped, seemingly at his limit with being the center of attention, “Isn’t the important part that I saved you?”</p><p>Before anyone could retort, Robin bloomed three extra arms from her right elbow with a wave of her hand.</p><p>“I saw you do that earlier,” said Percy, unfazed. “You did,” Robin agreed, “And the reason I can do this is because I ate a Devil-Fruit. In exchange for my ability to swim, I can now generate extra limbs from anywhere on my body, or on other bodies or surfaces.”</p><p>Percy almost flinched, but managed to steel himself at the last moment. Annabeth would be so proud of him for remembering to be polite, but seriously? Who would ever willingly give up the ability to swim?</p><p>“Ability to swim like you forgot how?” he asked, curious.</p><p>“No,” said Chopper, “It’s much worse. Being in the water paralyzes us. They say that eating a Devil-Fruit means you turn your back on the sea, so the sea curses you.”</p><p>“I take it you and Brook ate Devil Fruits too,” Percy guessed.</p><p>“What gave us away?” Brook chuckled, “Is it because I’m a skeleton? Yohohoho!”</p><p>Zoro grabbed Luffy’s face and stretched it for Percy to see, “Your new captain here’s a Devil-Fruit user too. His whole body’s made of rubber.”</p><p>“The point is,” Usopp interjected, “That everyone who has powers on the Grand Line-powers like yours, I mean- has them because they ate a Devil-Fruit.”</p><p>“I see,” Percy hummed, “Well then no, my powers don’t come from a Devil-Fruit.”</p><p>Everyone waited.</p><p>“You want to tell us where your powers come from?” Sanji prompted.</p><p>Percy rubbed his hands up and down his arms, clearly uncomfortable, “It’s kind of hard to explain. I wouldn’t want to shatter anyone’s religious faith.”</p><p>This piqued Robin’s curiosity, but before she or anyone else could ask follow up questions, Luffy slammed his foot on the grassy deck.</p><p>“It’s getting late,” he said calmly, “Sanji, Percy hasn’t eaten anything all day. Can you go and make him something?”</p><p>Sanji agreed readily enough; people going hungry always tugged at his heartstrings, “Sure. Percy, what can I make you?”</p><p>“Something blue?” Percy asked hopefully. Gods, he missed his mom; she was the only one who understood how awesome blue food was. He wondered how long he’d been missing and how long his mom had been looking for him; he had to get back to her and Annabeth ASAP.</p><p>Sanji rose a curly, blonde eyebrow, “Blue? Weird request, but ok,” and he disappeared into the galley.</p><p>“Percy is our nakama now,” Luffy announced, “He’ll tell us more about himself when he’s ready, and until then, we’re going to wait, but Percy, we will wait.”</p><p>Percy flinched. He understood now why Luffy was the captain; when he had something real to say, everyone listened to his every word with baited breath.</p><p>“You are our nakama now, right, Percy?” Chopper asked hopefully.</p><p>“Well,” Percy said hesitantly. He knew he needed to give his new friends an answer; he was just stalling for time so that he could come up with the right words to say. Diplomacy was definitely not one of his strong suits, “I think what’s obvious is that I’m not supposed to be here.” Zoro snorted and Percy glared at him. So far, this guy was seriously annoying, “Anyway, I want to go home, and the best chances I have of getting home are with you guys; I can see that now. So if you’ll have me, I’d like to join your crew.”</p><p>The Strawhats cheered and a knot settled in Percy’s stomach. How was he supposed to tell them about the monsters that could smell him from miles away? They could clearly handle themselves in a fight, but against an enemy they couldn’t see?</p><p>“I’m going to bed,” Nami declared, “Like Luffy said; it’s late. We should be coming up on the Red Line tomorrow; we’re going to need the rest to figure out how to get over it. Robin, you coming?”</p><p>Percy held Luffy back as the others left, “Can I show you something?”</p><p>Luffy looked puzzled, but still stopped, waiting patiently for Percy, “Sure.”</p><p>Percy uncapped Riptide.</p><p>Luffy grinned, “Cool sword! Is that bronze? Zoro’s are made of steel.”</p><p>Percy gulped. He had to make sure, “So you can see that it’s a sword?”</p><p>Luffy blinked, “Sure I can. Is it not supposed to be?”</p><p>Percy shook his head, “No, it’s a sword. Luffy, do you think I could try cutting you with it?”</p><p>Luffy frowned, “Won’t that hurt?”</p><p>“Just a little nick,” Percy promised, “I want to try something.”</p><p>Luffy held out his hand so readily that it made Percy’s heart soar. This guy trusted Percy enough to let him potentially cut him with a sword; Monkey D. Luffy was definitely a special person. Carefully, Percy touched Riptide to Luffy’s hand. Just as he’d hoped, Riptide passed harmlessly through Luffy. So Luffy was like his mom; mortal, but able to see through the Mist.</p><p>Luffy scratched his hand, “I think your sword’s broken.”</p><p>Percy sighed in relief, “No, it works fine. It just wasn’t made to hurt humans. I’ll have to figure something out the next time we have to fight.”</p><p>“I don’t think you need to worry about that,” Luffy said eagerly, “Your powers are so cool! And we’re surrounded by water!” A door across the deck shut softly as Sanji glided gracefully across the deck, a bowl of deep-blue soup held delicately in his hands. Percy inhaled it gratefully; it tasted so much like home it made him want to cry.</p><p>“We’ll get you home, Percy,” Sanji promised fiercely, “After everything that’s happened in the past few days, we owe you that much.”</p><p>Percy blinked back a tear, “What makes you think you can?”</p><p>“Luffy’s going to be King of the Pirates,” Sanji said firmly, “He wouldn’t be much of a King if he couldn’t keep his promises.”</p><p>“And I’m promising the same as Sanji,” Luffy agreed, “We’re going to get you home.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Who invited the bunny?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>That night, Annabeth visited Percy in his dreams.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>One moment he was curled up in a hammock in a small, cozy room with the rest of the boys on the Thousand Sunny, the next, he was in Cabin Three at Camp Half-Blood.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Annabeth Chase and Nico di Angelo sat on his lone bunk, conversing in low, anxious voices.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Grover’s still searching in Nevada,” Nico was saying to a clearly distraught Annabeth, “But I don’t think the Council will let him stay away much longer. I might have a lead in San Francisco; I’m gonna shadow travel there tonight.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Percy’s heart clenched at the sight of Annabeth. His girlfriend looked utterly exhausted, “Ok, let me restock my ambrosia then I’ll come with you.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Nico laid a bony, pale hand on Annabeth’s, “No, Annabeth, you need to rest; you’ve been searching nonstop for days now. You need to be here when Jason and the others come back from their quest to free Hera-,” the two demigods grimaced at the name. Annabeth had no love for the goddess of marriage. As for Nico, up until the end of the Titan War, his very existence was a threat to Zeus, Hera’s husband’s power; his feelings were even less warm for their dear aunt.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Anyway,” said Nico, “I had a vision today from Hades; I need to follow this lead alone.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Promise you’ll let me know if anything turns up?” Annabeth asked hopefully.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Nico squeezed her hand, “This is Percy we’re talking about; of course I will.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Percy wanted to call out to them, to at least tell Annabeth that he was ok and he was trying to find his way home, but before he could, Annabeth, Nico and Cabin Three dissolved into mist. A severe woman in a white and gold dress rose from the mist, bound in chains.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Hera,” Percy snarled, “You did this to me? Ripped me from my friends and family? Why?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You heard the Great Prophecy, Jackson,” said the goddess, “You’re essential to its success; I just had to move your starting line up a little.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You told my dad I didn’t have all the tools to win the next war,” Percy started, “I just won your last war for you. What right do you have to take me from my life?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Hera’s scowl deepened, “Careful, Perseus, I took away Jason Grace’s memory; I can do the same to you as well before you reach the Roman camp.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Percy was so confused, “Roman camp? What are you talking about?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But the dream was already fading.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You have eight months to get stronger, Jackson,” Hera called, “Then I will bring you all the answers that you desire.”</em>
</p><p>Percy woke with a shriek. Brook’s skeletal face loomed over him like a bad dream.</p><p>“Stop doing that!” Percy scolded.</p><p>Brook, despite being much, much older than Percy, looked suitably chastened, “My apologies, Percy-san, I only meant to wake you; we have arrived at the Red Line.”</p><p>Percy followed the talking skeleton out onto the deck. He was about to ask Brook what exactly the Red Line was when he saw the massive wall of red rock towering above the Thousand Sunny and disappearing into the clouds.</p><p>“So that’s the Red Line,” Percy whistled, “It’s huge!”</p><p>“I haven’t seen it in years,” said Robin, coming up to him with a cup of blue coffee. Percy took it gratefully, “Luffy, Zoro, Nami, Usopp, and Sanji come from the other side of the Red Line, from a place called East Blue. They met the rest of us here, on the Grand Line.”</p><p>“And we had to cross the Red Line to get here, to the Grand Line,” Nami finished, “But now that we’re trying to get to the New World, we need to figure out how to cross it again.”</p><p>The geography of this Red Line was making Percy’s head spin, but he chose to ignore it; they needed to cross the big, red wall. Simple enough, right?</p><p>“Well, how did you get over it the first time?” Percy asked Nami.</p><p>“We went over it,” said Nami, “We road up Reverse Mountain.”</p><p>Percy held up a hand, “Never mind; I don’t wanna know.”</p><p>“We could try going under it,” Sanji offered, “Going over it’s a bad idea; the World Governemnt is up there.”</p><p>“How are we supposed to do that?” asked Usopp, bewildered, “Do you have an amphibous ship that can take us under it?”</p><p>Franky clapped his hands together, “I am so glad you asked!” he said excitedly, and made a mad dash up to the helm.</p><p>Percy and the others followed behind, curious to see what the cyborg was up to. Franky pulled a yellow lever by the wheel’s left side and Percy felt a door open somewhere in the hull.</p><p>“Ladies and gentlemen,” Franky announced, “I give to you, Shark Submerge 3!”</p><p>From Sunny’s hull emerged a submarine in the shape of a shark with a bright red number 3 painted on the side.</p><p>“Cool!” Luffy, Usopp and Chopper cheered.</p><p>“Alright,” said Nami, “Who’s going with Percy?”</p><p>Percy blinked. “Wait a second,” he protested, “I never volunteered myself for this.”</p><p>Nami glared at him and Percy’s knees started knocking. Gods, she was almost as scary as Annabeth.</p><p>“You said you can’t drown, right?” Nami demanded.</p><p>Percy sighed, “Yeah, I can breathe under water. I can dive down as far as I want, too.”</p><p>Nami’s glare turned into a grin at frightening speeds, “Excellent! Then you can use Shark Submerge 3 like a diving bell and ride down with it.”</p><p>“I wanna go!” Luffy whined, “Let me go!”</p><p>Eventually the Strawhats decided on Percy, Luffy, Robin and Brook as the exploration party. Why the Strawhats would pick three people who couldn’t swim to accompany Percy with a submarine was beyond the son of Poseidon, but Nami’s scary eyes shut up any objection he could voice. While the others milled about on deck, relaxing in the sunshine, the Shark Submerge 3 dove straight down into the murky depths of the ocean, Percy clinging onto the fin for dear life.</p><p>Percy decided pretty quickly that Nami insisting he accompany the submarine from the outside was a dumb idea. What was he supposed to do? The Shark Submerge 3 was perfectly capable of cutting through the water on its own; it didn’t need Percy to help push it further and further down the Red Line, though he did anyway, willing the little submarine to go deeper and deeper. He couldn’t even talk to the Strawhats on the ship or in the sub. The best he could do was swim around to the port hole and watch Luffy pull faces at him from within the safety of the sub. Then he saw the bunny. Even from outside the sub, surrounded by the crushing silence of the sea, he could hear Brook screaming and Luffy howling with laughter. He paid them no mind; the monster in front of him required his full, undivided attention. From the waist up, it really did look like a giant rabbit, with dull, pink fur and beady, glowing, red eyes. From the waist down, the rabbit sported a massive, orange tail. Percy had a pretty terrible track record with sea monsters, but he had to try something.</p><p><em>“Um…hello?”</em> he said tentatively.</p><p><em>“Food?”</em> the bunny asked hopefully.</p><p><em>“Sorry, we’re fresh out,”</em> Percy apologized, <em>“But if you let us go, maybe we can go find you some?”</em></p><p><em>“Food!”</em> the bunny roared, and charged at Percy. Percy flattened himself against the metal wall of the sub, fully aware that if he moved, the bunny would swallow his friends. He felt the sub puttering away at top speed, then he dissolved into water.</p><p>No matter how many times it happened, Robin decided she’d never get tired of Percy Jackson surprising her.</p><p>Take now, for example. One minute the Shark Submerge 3 was fleeing from an angry sea monster with Percy clearly trying desperately to shield the sub with his body. The next minute, Percy disappeared, melted through the wall of the ship, pooled into a puddle, and reformed on the floor.</p><p>“Cool!” Luffy laughed in delight. Brook screamed and floored the gas pedal even harder. Robin helped Percy into a seated position, using the wall for support.</p><p>“Are you alright?” she asked the boy. Percy opened his mouth to speak, turned a sickly shade of green, and buried his face in his knees, clearly too traumatized to explain what happened. Brook decided that calling Nami and the others could wait until the expedition crew couldn’t feel the ocean rustling under the violent swishes of the sea monster. The four Strawhats shot towards the Thousand Sunny. They were about to break the surface when Percy yelled, “Stop!”</p><p>Brook didn’t know why, but immediately he pulled the throttle and the Shark Submerge 3 did a right angle, zipping under the ship and away from the sea monster.</p><p>“Where are we going?” Luffy whined, “Zoro and the others are up there!”</p><p>“Do you trust me?” Percy groaned. The others all said yes at once.</p><p>“There’s something up there with the others,” Percy said grimly. Still leaning heavily on Robin for support, he got to his feet, “Something from my past, and we need to come up with a plan before she kills all of us.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Kelli won't let Percy have any friends</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N</p><p>Percy was pretty sure that no mortal had ever experienced turning into water. Annabeth had told him stories of how the Romans used to tie criminals to different chariots, then drive in opposite directions until the criminal was ripped to pieces.</p><p>Yup, turning your organs and bones into water then reforming them again felt a lot like being ripped to pieces by horse-drawn chariots.</p><p>But Percy had no time to process the awesome truth that he could turn his body into water and pass through solid objects; the water was speaking to him, telling him there was a monster on the deck of the Thousand Sunny.</p><p>“Someone use the periscope,” Percy ordered, “We should be close enough for it to breach the surface.”</p><p>Robin slid into a chair next to Brook and did as Percy asked. The video feed shuddered to life on a soft-blue screen in front of the Strawhats, showing the live image of the Thousand Sunny. Sanji, Franky, Usopp and Chopper marched up and down the deck, clearly looking for something. At the helm stood a dark-skinned, curly-haired girl in a short, stripped skirt and matching shirt with writing in a strange language plastered across the front. Zoro lay in a crumpled heap at her feet, blood oozing from a nasty-looking welt on his head. Nami was nowhere to be found.</p><p>“Who’s the girl?” asked Robin.</p><p>Brook crained his neck to get a look, “What girl? I bet she’s pretty!”</p><p>Luffy scratched his head, “I wouldn’t exactly call her pretty with her hair on fire. And what’s wrong with her legs?”</p><p>Brook peered at the screen and shrieked, “You’re right! She looks like a monster!”</p><p>Percy filed away Brook being able to see through the Mist for another day; they had more important things to worry about, “Her name’s Kelli. Robin, you can’t believe what you see. She isn’t human; she’s a monster called an empousai.”</p><p>“Alright,” Robin agreed easily, “But why is an empousai on our ship?”</p><p>“Oh, that’s easy,” Percy said grimly, “She’s here to kill me.”</p><p>A shadow fell over Luffy’s face, “Then she’s asking for a fight.”<br/>
Percy gripped Luffy’s arm hard enough to leave rubbery dents, “Wait a second! Kelli has a way with words; she can get men to do whatever she wants. That’s probably why the others haven’t attacked her yet, though I have no idea what’s wrong with Zoro.”</p><p>“Nami must be hiding somewhere on the ship,” said Robin, “Captain, how do you want to handle this?”</p><p>“Go up there and kick her ass,” Luffy said simply.</p><p>“Normaly I’d love that plan,” said Percy, “But we have to be quick. Kelli’s most likely, uh-<em>persuaded </em>the guys to fight for her; they’ll turn on us the second we reach the deck.”</p><p>Robin hummed thoughtfully, “You say her power of persuasion only works on men?”</p><p>“From what I’ve seen,” Percy agreed, “Though I don’t know why.”</p><p>“My guess is it has something to do with attraction,” said Robin, “Which would explain why it didn’t work on Nami or Zoro. Nami most likely went to hide to wait for us. Meanwhile, Zoro engaged her in combat, but didn’t expect his nakama to turn on him and went down.”</p><p>Percy let this information sink in, “So…Zoro’s not attracted to the hideous monster, but the others are?”<br/>
“Remember, most of us cannot see that she is a monster,” Robin reminded the group, “To me, she looks like a regular human. But Brook, you can see her true form?”</p><p>“I’m trying to un-see it, Robin-san,” Brook gagged.</p><p>“Maybe the fact that Brook and Luffy can see her makes them immune to her charms,” Robin continued, “Percy, she’s trying to kill you; I doubt she wants to take control of you to do that.”</p><p>“Make my friends do it for her,” Percy gulped, “How sweet.”</p><p>“Finally, I am a woman,” Robin continued, “So her powers won’t work on me.”</p><p>Percy’s face split into a grin that Brook was sure would give the kid’s mother nightmares, “Nami was right; we are the perfect group for this expedition.”</p><p>Luffy cracked his knuckles, “Let’s kick some monster butt.”</p><p>When they got to the deck, Kelli was waiting for them. Flanked by Franky and a roided up Chopper, the vampire woman looked like the Grand Line’s scariest mobster.</p><p>“Perseus,” Kelli snarled, “How nice of you to finally join us. Do you have any idea how long it took me to find you? It isn’t easy to come all the way over here, you know!”</p><p>Out of the corner of his eye, Percy noticed Nami creeping up behind Usopp, blue baton raised high like a cudgel.</p><p>“Let my crew go, chicken lady,” Luffy growled.</p><p>“You don’t want to fight me, Monkey D Luffy,” Kelli purred, “You want to kill Percy Jackson.”</p><p>“Kill Percy Jackson,” Franky, Chopper and Sanji echoed just as Nami brought her baton down on Ussop’s head with a sickening, silent “crunch!” and Usopp crumpled. Nami glared at them, then motioned to Zoro at Kelli’s hoofed and metal feet. The message was clear: get them away from Zoro and I can grab him.</p><p>“You see, boys?” Kelli crooned, “If you would just kill the demigod for me, you could like totally be with me forever. I’ll even share a kiss with the lucky boy that finds his Achilles heel.”</p><p>“Forever,” Chopper echoed dreamily.</p><p>“Kiss the pretty girl,” Sanji’s glazed eyes took on a dangerous tint, and he lunged for Percy.</p><p>But Brook was faster. Sanji’s leg and Brook’s cane sword clashed, before Sanji succeeded in pushing Brook off. Caught off balance, Sanji retreated back to his new mistress.</p><p>“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Kelli,” Percy said lightly, “But these pirates have some pretty interesting powers. Care for a demonstration?”</p><p>Luffy grinned wickedly, <em>“Gum Gum Pistol!” </em></p><p>Percy wasted no time watching Luffy’s rubbery arms raining down on Kelli; he needed to lure them away from Zoro.</p><p>“Hey fang face!” he hollered while scrambling up to the top of the galley, “Over here!”</p><p>Kelli hissed and charged, only to fall flat on her face.</p><p>“Who did that?” she demanded, whipping around wildly to see a hand coming from the ground, holding on to her metal foot.</p><p>Robin smiled innocently, “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”</p><p>Before Percy could capitalize on the empousai’s moment of weakness, Franky unleashed a barrage of bullets from his hands, and Robin flung herself out of the way, letting Kelli go in the process.</p><p>Percy let the bullets hit him in the front. They felt like tiny punches, but thanks to Percy’s Achilles Curse, he was fine.</p><p>Well, fine for the moment. Kelli advanced on him menacingly. In the background, Luffy and Sanji were locked in a furious fight of fists versus legs, though Luffy was clearly holding back. A few yards away, Brook darted and leapt gracefully around Franky’s bullet fire while Robin did her best to dodge Chopper’s massive fists. Nami had taken refuge behind a tree. Percy could see her furiously slapping Zoro awake, demanding that he stop being a lazy ass and help the others. Hmmm, Percy could work with that. Quickly, Percy pulled out Riptide and chucked it at Nami. Thankfully, Nami took the hint and began threatening to jab Zoro’s eyes out if he didn’t get up and take the damn pen.</p><p>“I’ve been searching for you for so long, Perseus,” Kelli sneered, “I’m going to take my time killing you. Then I’m going to drag your corpse to Olympus so your blood can like totally wake the Earth Mother!”</p><p>Percy’s blood ran cold, “Whatever you’re talking about, Kelli, my friends and I will stop it,” he said as confidently as he could, “But first, it was pretty dumb of you to think you could beat me at sea.”</p><p>Kelli realized her mistake a second too late. Percy shouted, and a geyser of water shot at the empousai, pushing her backward straight onto Riptide, clutched tightly in Zoro’s shaking hands. Kelli evaporated with a wail, covering Zoro in a fine layer of monster dust. Sanji, Franky and Chopper stopped fighting at once.</p><p>“What the hell?” Sanji swore, “Why am I fighting the shitty captain?”</p><p>“Waaaah,” Franky wailed, “I hurt Robin!”</p><p>Robin placed a dainty, comforting hand on Franky’s enormous, metalic one, “Franky, if we were to fight for real, I can assure you our battle would not be so one sided.”</p><p>This seemed to cheer Franky up and he cheerfully offered Robin a coke, which she accepted graciously.</p><p>“But what happened?” asked Chopper. He snapped out of his daze at once when he saw Zoro and Usopp sprawled on the deck, each sporting impressive-looking head injuries, “Aaaaah! We need a doctor!”</p><p>“Who hit me…?” Usopp asked faintly, a thin trail of blood trickling from his hairline and pooling in his left eyebrow.</p><p>“We gotta stop meeting like this, Zoro,” Percy tittered, summoning a pool of healing water and placing it to Zoro’s head.</p><p>Zoro scowled, “Maybe if I’d expected Franky to bash me over the head with his giant, metal fist then I wouldn’t have to-ow!”</p><p>“Quit whining, you big baby,” Nami said lightly, “We have more important things to discuss.”</p><p>At that moment, a terrible rumbling noise shook the Thousand Sunny. Percy, Robin and Brook shared worried looks while Luffy cackled with laughter.</p><p>“The bunny’s back,” Luffy giggled, cracking his knuckles and storming to the prow.</p><p>Sure enough, the sea monster that the Shark Submerge 3 had run away from burst from the ocean with a roar of <em>“FOOD!” </em>that only Percy could hear.</p><p>“That’s it,” Zoro growled, pushing Percy off and scrambling to his feet. He leapt at the bunny and, with fast and suscinct moves from his white sword, had chopped the sea monster into pieces, “I’m so done with you.”</p><p>Percy couldn’t help but feel sorry for sea creatures; even the ones that tried to eat him. Still, he supposed the bunny’d had it coming.</p><p>“What’s that?” Nami shouted, pointing at the bunny’s head. Percy squinted. Out of the sea monster’s mouth flew two, much smaller shadows. Screaming the entire way down, the two shadows fell onto the deck of the Thousand Sunny, knocking Sanji flat on his back. Now that they were level with the Strawhats, Percy could see that the shadows were a mermaid and a starfish wearing a hat.</p><p>“I’ve seen weirder,” Percy decided.</p><p>The mermaid giggled and clapped, “That was fun, huh, Pappagu?”</p><p>The starfish got to its, uh, feet? Did starfish even have feet? Percy had to file that away under ‘Things to Ask Dad if I Ever See Him Again.’</p><p>“No, Kaimi,” the starfish scolded, “You should have run away when you saw the monster.”</p><p>“Well, you see, I didn’t exactly notice it,” Kaimi said sheepishly. The starfish was so aghast at this information, he nearly got trampled by Sanji.</p><p>“WOW A REAL LIVE MERMAID! HEAVEN IS REAL!” Sanji cried, dancing up and down the deck in delight. Zoro’s scowl deepened at the sight.</p><p>“Wow, a real mermaid!” Chopper gushed.</p><p>“That must mean that Fishman Island is close,” Nami said excitedly, “Right, Robin?”</p><p>“Yes, I believe so,” said Robin, also excited, but in her own way.</p><p>“OW!” shouted Franky, “SUPER!”</p><p>“Excuse me miss,” Brook said politely, “Could you lend me some money?”</p><p>Luffy laughed loudly, “So, can you poop?”</p><p>“DON’T ANSWER THEM!” Sanji screamed, kicking Luffy across the face.<br/>
Percy wanted to faceplant at the question, but he was too busy healing Usopp’s head injury. Seriously? How could anyone be that stupid?</p><p><em>You can, Seaweed Brain, </em>he imagined Annabeth chiding him. Gods, he missed her.</p><p>Usopp picked up the starfish, “So what’s your deal?”</p><p>The starfish huffed, “Put me down! I am Pappagu! Designer extraordinaire! Kaimi is my student!”</p><p>“Yes!” Kaimi said proudly. Then the mermaid caught sight of Percy and yelped, before scrambling into the closest thing to a bow that she could manage with her salmon-pink tail.</p><p>“My Lord,” Kaimi squeaked, “I didn’t see you there!”</p><p>Pappug’s orange complexion blanched and he too flattened himself against the grassy deck, “Your highness! I was unaware that demigods such as yourself ever graced these corners of the seas.”</p><p>The Strawhats all turned in slow motion to look at Percy. Percy silently sent a prayer to his father, asking him to let the ocean swallow him whole before he died of embarassement.</p><p>“Percy,” Nami said sweetly, “We’ve waited long enough; it’s time you told us everything.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Percy is royalty</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>The Strawhats, plus Kaimi and Pappagu, spread out into a circle on the deck of the Thousand Sunny. With the warm breeze blowing through his hair, the soft smell of the grass underneath him and a cup of blue coke in his hand, courtesy of Franky, Percy almost felt relaxed.</p><p>Almost.</p><p>Usopp cleared his throat, “So, Kaimi, why did you call Percy ‘my Lord’?”</p><p>Percy wanted to know the answer to that too, actually. He was under the impression that most of Poseidon’s subjects didn’t like him very much, being a symbol of their king’s infidelity, and all that.</p><p>Kaimi laughed nervously, but didn’t speak.</p><p>“I will answer for my apprentice,” said Pappagu, puffing out his chest importantly, “It is true that no one has ever seen the Prince, but everyone knows that King Neptune has had children with mortals over the centuries. Perseus Jackson smells just like our King.”</p><p>Luffy’s nose wrinkled, “Did that starfish just insult my friend?”<br/>
Percy sighed, “No, Luffy, he’s right; I do give off a smell that monsters and other creatures can detect. That’s how Kelli found us.”</p><p>“You mean the cheerleader tracked us to the middle of the Red Line,” Nami said slowly, “Because she could smell you?”</p><p>“Yeah,” said Percy, “Believe me, I’ve tried to mask it, or get rid of it, but I really can’t. I thought that maybe, being at sea would help; I guess I was wrong.”</p><p>“You’re getting stronger, your highness,” Kaimi said excitedly, “No son of Neptune EVER spends this long at sea. It fuels your power!”</p><p>Percy wanted to argue that he didn’t <em>feel </em>very strong, otherwise he would have figured out how to get home by now. But then he remembered how he could now turn into water and pass through solid objects. His other powers were getting easier to use too. Maybe Kaimi had a point.</p><p>“Hold up,” Sanji interrupted, “Son of Neptune as in King Neptune? The King of Fishman Island?”</p><p>“The one and only!” Kaimi said cheerfully.</p><p>Everyone started talking at once, each trying to ask Percy a different question.</p><p>“Enough!” Percy shouted. Surprisingly, everyone went quiet.</p><p>“First of all,” said Percy, “I’m a son of Poseidon, not Neptune. I didn’t even know the Roman gods were real.”</p><p>“Gods can exist in many forms,” Pappagu explained, “It isn’t Atlantis, but Fishman Island is King Neptune’s base when he wants to exist here, on the Grand Line.”</p><p>Robin got up and went to her room, returning a moment later with a leather-bound book in her arms. Percy translated the Japanese effortlessly: Greco-Roman Mythology.</p><p>“This book,” she murmured, “This explains your past, doesn’t it?”</p><p>Percy nodded.</p><p>“What’s the book about?” asked Zoro.</p><p>“A long time ago, the people of a far off country called Greece used to worship many gods,” said Robin, “These gods lived in a palace in the sky called Mount Olympus. After the fall of the Greek Empire, the Romans adopted the Greek Gods and made them more Roman. There were lots of Gods, but the major 12 were the most powerful. The Big Three are Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. They ruled over the Sky, the Sea and the Underworld respectively.”</p><p>“That’s all true,” Percy agreed, “Except, it isn’t a ‘past tense’ story, if you catch my drift.”</p><p>“You mean, the Gods are real,” said Franky, “The Greek Gods, not the kami.”</p><p>“No, those are real too,” said Kaimi, “It’s like Pappagu said; Gods exist in many forms. They interact with mortals all the time. Sometimes they even sire children with mortals. Those children are demigods: half god, half mortal.”</p><p>“Huh,” Zoro grunted, “I still don’t believe in Gods.”</p><p>Percy rolled his eyes, “Whatever, man. Believe what you want, but you wanted to hear my story. My dad is Poseidon, God of the Sea.”</p><p>Chopper’s eyes were shining, “So basically, you’re a God? That’s why you have all these non Devil-Fruit powers?”</p><p>Thunder rumbled in the distance.</p><p>“Heheh, I wouldn’t throw around that term so easily, Chopper,” Percy laughed nervously, “The Gods don’t like it when you equate yourself to them. My dad is the Sea God, so I can control water and ships and talk to horses and sea creatures.”</p><p>“That doesn’t explain the bullets,” Brook pipped up.</p><p>Usopp put his fist in his other hand, “Yeah! You’re bullet proof like Luffy!”</p><p>Percy waved them off, “That’s a long story. The short version is that I’m invulnerable.”</p><p>“Ok so are we done now!” Luffy bounced up and down eagerly “It’s lunchtime!”</p><p>Kaimi rung her hands excitedly, “Ooh! I should call my friend Hachin! He makes the absolute best octopus fritters in the world! After you rescued me from the sea king it’s the least I can do!”</p><p>Luffy whooped and hollered as Kaimi pulled out what looked to Percy like the world’s largest snail.</p><p>“That’s nasty,” Percy gagged, “What in the Hades is that thing?”<br/>
“You mean you’ve never seen a Transponder Snail?” asked Chopper, “Everyone uses them to communicate!”</p><p>Percy watched as Kaimi picked up a reciever on the snail’s shell and asked for an octopus named Hachin.</p><p>“I’m ok Hachin! I hope you are too! I’m gonna bring some friends and Lord Perseus to you!” Kaimi called cheerfully.</p><p>“I wish Kaimi would call <em>me </em>Lord Sanji,” Sanji sobbed pitifully.</p><p>Percy patted him awkwardly on the back, “Uh…there, there?”</p><p>Percy didn’t know much about talking snails, so when the one in Kaimi’s hand sneered, “Oh, so it’s Kaimi, is it?” at her, and the rest of the Strawhats and Pappagu gasped, he felt a little lost.</p><p>“Is that not Hachin?” he asked Franky out of the corner of his mouth.</p><p>“I guess not,” Franky shrugged.</p><p>“You don’t know who ya talkin to,” the snail continued, “This ain’t your buddy Hachin.”<br/>
“WHAA YOU’RE NOT HACHIN?!?!?” Kaimi wailed.</p><p>“This is Mackrel from the Big Dumb Mackrel Gang,” said the snail, “Wait, I shouldn’t say that about myself.”</p><p>“My goodness,” said Robin, “this sounds like trouble.”</p><p>“What are you doing with Hachin’s transponder snail?” Kaimi demanded bravely, though Percy could tell by the fidgety swishing of her tail that she was scared out of her mind.</p><p>“What do you think?” the snail grunted, “We beat ‘im up and stole it from him. With the Flying Fish Riders on our side, he didn’t stand a chance. Ha ha ha!”</p><p>Pappagu cursed, “Those are the worst traffickers on the Sabaody Archipelago!”<br/>
Percy felt his blood roar so loudly in his ears that he couldn’t hear Kaimi talking to the captured octopus man in question, “Human traffickers?”</p><p>“Yeah, fishmen and mermaids are in high demand, too, since the nobles find them so exotic,” Nami explained angrily.</p><p>“Sorry, Luffychin,” Percy heard Kaimi say shakily, “But can I give you your octopus fritters some other time? I need to go and rescue my friend.”</p><p>“Uh,” Luffy pondered, seemingly considering her question. Franky and Sanji conked him over the head for even considering taking Kaimi up on her offer.</p><p>“Kaimi,” Nami said sweetly, “I’m sorry if this is too meddlesome, but you don’t need to save your friend alone; we’ll absolutely help,” she thought about it for a moment before adding, “I mean, these guys will help.”<br/>
“YOU’RE NOT OUR BOSS!” Usopp and Franky protested hotly.</p><p>“Anyway,” Nami waved them off, “We’ll help you and in return, you can show us how to get to Fishman Island. It’s a pretty good deal since you’re probably going back there yourself, right?”</p><p>At this Kaimi brightened, “Yeah! Ok, it’s a deal!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Nami has a weird dream</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>Nami didn’t say a single word for the entire journey to the Flying Fish Riders’ hideout; she was too busy thinking of the octopus fishman they were going to rescue. Over the transponder snail, she could’ve sworn that octopus fishman sounded just like Hachi, one of her former crewmates and tormenters back in Cocoyashi Village.</p><p>But that was impossible. Surely the marines had arrested the Arlong Pirates after Luffy kicked the crap out of them, right?</p><p>Still, as the Flying Fish Riders’ overwater base loomed ever closer, Nami couldn’t help feeling uneasy.</p><p>“Not much for singing, are you?”</p><p>Nami gave Percy a small smile as the two watched Chopper and Usopp do a jig to accompany Brook’s fiddle, “Not now.”</p><p>“I get it,” said Percy, “Having fun isn’t as appealing when you know a fight’s coming.”</p><p>“It’s not just that-,” Nami faltered. Did she really know Percy well enough yet to confide in him? To tell him something she hadn’t even told Robin yet?</p><p>Looking at Percy’s open, honest face, Nami decided she could at least trust him enough to tell him about her dream the night before.</p><p>“I didn’t get that much sleep last night,” she admitted, “Weird dreams.”</p><p>Percy laughed humorlessly, “Wanna share? Demigods are the experts on weird dreams.”</p><p>So Nami told him.</p><p>
  <em>It was certainly the most realistic dream she’d had in a long time. She could feel the warm sun on her face and smell the fragrant tangerines all around her. She and Noshiko sat on a checkered picnic blanket in their mother’s tangerine grove. Noshiko tried to say something to her, but Nami couldn’t hear her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Well, this is pleasant, isn’t it?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Nami whipped around, scrambling to her feet. There, gliding gracefully towards her, was the most beautiful woman Nami had ever seen. Her makeup was tasteful, her hair hung in plum-purple ringlets that perfectly framed her heart-shaped face, and her skin was flawless and well-tanned. She plucked a perfectly ripe tangerine from a low hanging branch and inspected it with perfectly-manicured hands.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“C-can I help you?”Nami stammered, then mentally cursed herself. Usually she was so composed when she spoke; what was it about this woman that was making her so confused? The strange woman flashed a set of dazzlingly white teeth at Nami, “No, my dear, I believe I should be the one asking you that. Sit down.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Nami obeyed before she could comprehend why she was listening to this stranger.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The woman smoothed any non-existent wrinkles in her beautiful white, knee length dress and gracefully settled on the corner of the checkered, blue blanket.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Who are you?” Nami asked hesitantly, “Why am I dreaming about someone I’ve never met?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The woman smiled wistfully at her, “My dear, we have most certainly met before.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Nami shook her head. “No,” she said resolutely, “No, I think I’d remember meeting someone like you.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The woman let out a laugh as clear as a cluster of wind chimes, “You flatter me. But no, I suppose you wouldn’t know anything about me, would you?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Nami knew, on some level, that this woman should make her uneasy; she radiated even more power than Luffy. Still, she couldn’t help but feel warm and comforted. She breathed a relaxed sigh; she hadn’t felt this way since, well,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Are you related to Bellmère?” she asked quietly.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The woman’s smile turned sad, “No, I’m afraid not. But I am related to you, Nami.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Even in her dream, Nami could feel goosebumps peppering her skin. Noshiko had told her that the day that Bellmère had taken them in, Noshiko had found Nami in the wreckage of their burning village. Nami had never felt any need to look into her past before that day. Why should she? She had a loving mother and sister. But now?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Ask your new friend, Percy Jackson, about me,” the woman advised, “I once promised him I’d make his love life very interesting. Hera sending him away to the Grand Line was…unexpected, but then again, so are most things in love.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Something in Nami twinged in anger at how casually this woman talked about Percy being separated from his family. If she was supposed to be related to Nami, how could she treat separating families so lightly?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I know I should have a bunch of questions,” Nami said cooly, “But I don’t. Bellmère was my mother; you’re just a stranger in a dream.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The woman’s eyes changed from green to blue as she picked at the tangerine in her hands, “It’s true, I haven’t been present in your life, Nami. I watch over you to the best of my abilities, but my influence only extends so far. The Grand Line…well, even some places are beyond the reach of love.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The edges of the tangerine grove began to ripple.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I don’t have much longer, my dear,” the woman said hurriedly, “I will leave you with some advice: your voice is powerful; it can sway the hearts of any mortal you desire. But remember, love is a powerful force. It can drive people to do incredible things. Find what it is that you love, and I know you’ll be as strong as your friends.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>With that, the dream faded to nothing.</em>
</p><p>Percy’s sea-green eyes were wide as saucers by the time she’d finished talking.</p><p>“Oh Gods,” he said, “I never thought that out here I’d find another one.”</p><p>“Another what?” Nami demanded. She was starting to get anxious. The two were sadly, at that moment, interrupted by the whoops and hollers of flying fish riders soaring above their heads.</p><p>“We’ll talk about this later,” Percy promised, “For now, ask Robin if you can borrow her book on Greek mythology. Read the chapter on Aphrodite.”</p><p>“HEY HACHIN!” Kaimi shouted at a large cage hanging above the ocean, “ARE YOU OK?”</p><p>“Look Kaimi, there’s no one there,” said Pappagu, “We’re in luck!”</p><p>“You’re right,” Kaimi whispered to the starfish, “Maybe they decided it was snack time or something.”</p><p>“YOU TWO CANNOT BE THIS DUMB!” Usopp roared, “EVEN A BLIND MAN WOULD SEE THAT THIS IS A TRAP!”</p><p>“They’re definitely waiting to grab you when you go save the octopus,” Franky agreed.</p><p>Nami’s eyes narrowed at the cage, “Do you see it?”<br/>
Zoro nodded, “You’re right.”</p><p>Sanji snorted, “Let’s just ask him. Hey! How’s Arlong doing?”</p><p>The octopus, who was clearly Hachi, said “Not so great! Everyone got caught by the marines! I escaped, gave up my life of crime and now run an octopus fritters shop!”</p><p>Nami face palmed, “What an idiot.”</p><p>“AAAH IT’S THE STUPID OCTOPUS WITH THE SWORDS!” Luffy hollered.</p><p>“NUUU THEY TRICKED ME!” Hachi hollered back.</p><p>“Does this mean you’re friends of Hachi?” Kaimi sunnily asked Zoro.</p><p>“SHUT UP! HE’S NOT OUR FRIEND! NO!” Zoro roared, making Kaimi shriek in fear.</p><p>“Yeah, sorry, Kaimi,” Nami apologized, unable to look at the mermaid, “I know we said we’d help you, but now that we know who your friend is, we really can’t.”</p><p>“I don’t get it,” said Percy, “What’s the problem with the octopus man?”</p><p>Nami tuned out Usopp telling Percy, Chopper, Robin, Franky and Brook her backstory as Kaimi hopped her way to the edge of the ship.</p><p>“Hachin!” she cried, “You’ve always been a good friend to me! So I’m coming to save you!”</p><p>“No, Kaimi!” cried Hachi, “It’s a trap!”</p><p>“I’m ashamed of you guys,” Pappagu stuck out his tongue at the Strawhats, “Especially you, Lord Perseus! You’re all morons! Morons!”</p><p>“Says the talking starfish,” Percy grumbled, “What even is my life…?”</p><p>“Let’s go!” Kaimi cried. The Strawhats watched as the mermaid and the starfish dove into the water, heading for the suspended cage.</p><p>“You think they’ll be ok,” asked Chopper.</p><p>“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” said Usopp, “There’s no way they’d charge in without a plan.”</p><p>Usopp had barely finished that thought when three fishman burst from the water, Kaimi and Pappagu clutched in their massive hands.</p><p>“YOU’VE GOTTA BE KIDDING ME,” Usopp shrieked, “THAT’S JUST PATHETIC!”</p><p>She felt bad for her new friend but secretly, Nami had to agree.</p><p>“We got Kaimi,” the yellow fishman cheered, “Now we’re gonna be filthy rich!”</p><p>“Especially since the guy that usually saves you, can’t,” said the fishman with the puffy eyes.</p><p>“You’re not getting away from us this time, Kaimi,” said the one with the head of scales.</p><p>“Hachin!” Kaimi wailed.</p><p>“I gotta save her!” Hachi cried, banging his head against his cage.<br/>
The Sunny lurched in the midst of a now, very choppy, angry ocean and Nami glanced at Percy.</p><p>“Knock it off,” she urged him, “You’re not helping.”</p><p>Percy looked at her and Nami blanched. The look of pure rage on his tanned face was utterly terrifying.</p><p>“Humans,” he growled, “are selling fishmen and merfolk as slaves?”</p><p>“Bastards,” Sanji growled, “Kaimi hasn’t done anything.”</p><p>Nami held up a hand to stop Percy and Sanji, “Hold on, you guys.”</p><p>“Nami,” Percy snapped, “I know you have a hard past with the octopus, but Kaimi is about to be captured by slave traders.”</p><p>Nami studied Hachi and the fishmen that held Kaimi.</p><p>“Alright,” she sighed, “I suppose we can save them.”</p><p>“Really?” asked Usopp.</p><p>“Are you sure?” asked Zoro.</p><p>“If you say it’s ok, then it’s ok,” said Luffy, his eyes turning into octopus fritters.</p><p>It filled Nami’s heart with warmth to know that her friends were willing to turn their backs on slave traders just for her, but she said “Yeah, really, Hachi’s harmless. I’m not going to hold a grudge.”</p><p>She flashed a grin at Percy, “Plus we promised Kaimi we’d save him, right?”</p><p>Percy smirked, “Right.”</p><p>“Hey,” called the yellow fishman, swimming cautiously closer to the Sunny, “Is that who I think it is?”</p><p>“It is!” the puffy-eyed fishman shouted, aggressively sniffing the air, “It’s the son of the Sea God!”</p><p>“Hey Flying Fish Riders!” the scaly one shouted to the fish circling above them, “Change of plans! The one in the orange shirt is worth at least ten times any mermaid!”</p><p>Nami instinctively pulled Percy closer to her.</p><p>“YOU WANT MY FRIENDS?” Luffy roared, pulling himself up to the nearest flying fish, “YOU’LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH ME!”</p><p>Sanji grinned, “This’ll be fun.”</p><p>“ZORO!” Luffy hollered as he zipped past on a flying fish, “TAKE CARE OF OCTOPUS MAN!”</p><p>Zoro unsheathed his swords, “aye aye, Captain.”</p><p><em>“Love is a powerful force,” </em>the woman in her dream had said. Nami still needed to think more about her dream, but for now she knew one thing to be true: she really loved her nakama.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Sanji nearly drowns and Percy has a problem</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>If it weren’t for Zoro collapsing yet again, Percy would’ve chucked those stupid fish half way across the Grand Line in a second.</p><p>Still, watching Brook run across the water, slashing fish with his cane sword, putting humans to sleep with his music, and cackling at the top of his lungs the whole time, was highly entertaining. Seriously, Percy could totally see Brook having his own reality show. <em>Binks’ Bones: The Tales of Brook the Skeleton.</em> Or something like that.</p><p>Slipping virtually unnoticed onto the dock where Zoro, Kaimi and Pappagu sat watching the fight was easy; the Strawhats were causing absolute chaos. Luffy was sparing with a hoard of flying fish bandits. Everyone else except for Zoro, Sanji and Brook had taken to defending the Sunny from aerial attacks. As for Sanji, he was busy dodging around the leader of the Flying Fish Riders, a man who, according to Zoro, looked just like the image drawn on Sanji’s wanted poster because the marines had failed to get a picture of him.</p><p>“For so long I have suffered,” the man wailed in the worst southern accent Percy had ever heard, “When I didn’t even do anything! It was all your fault!”</p><p>“I’M GONNA SMASH YOUR FACE IN!” Sanji roared as his legs caught fire and he lunged at the Flying Fish Rider. Clearly, he wasn’t a fan of that wanted poster.</p><p>A fishman threw himself at Percy. Rolling under the fishman’s scaly belly, Percy willed the water to carry the fishman far, far away. Dusting himself off, he turned to Zoro. Zoro had cut Hachi’s cage easily enough, but the past few days seemed to be catching up to the swordsman.</p><p>“You are insufferable,” said Percy, summoning his healing water once more, “You know that?”</p><p>“Shut up,” Zoro gasped, “Go help the others.”</p><p>“Nah,” Percy said calmly, “They can handle this. I’ve done a lot of fighting lately; I’m gonna sit this one out.”</p><p>What Percy didn’t want to tell Zoro is he was a little nervous to fight on land. Sure, the sea was right there, but what about when it wasn’t? Kaimi was right; he felt himself growing more and more powerful with every day that he spent out at sea. What would happen when he wasn’t at sea anymore?</p><p>Instead, to answer the questioning look that Zoro gave him, Percy said “I don’t feel like getting chucked in a cage today.”</p><p>“Oh, please,” Zoro scoffed, “You and I both know you could drown everyone here without trying.”</p><p>“I can’t drown!” Kaimi piped up helpfully.</p><p>“Yeah! Us neither!” Pappagu and Hachi added.</p><p>“Very helpful advice,” Percy told the sea creatures, making them all blush. He returned his attention to Zoro.</p><p>“If you’d just let me finish healing you,” Percy grunted, head injuries were still pretty hard for him; they required a lot of time and attention, “Then maybe this wouldn’t have happened.”</p><p>“Yeah, yeah,” said Zoro, “Don’t let your guard down!”</p><p>Percy didn’t even flinch as Hachi darted past them to intercept some Flying Fish Riders, “They’ve got this under control.”</p><p>“Don’t worry, my Lord!” Hachi called cheerfully, “I will protect you while you heal Roronoa!”</p><p>“Please stop calling me that,” Percy muttered just loud enough for Zoro to hear him.</p><p>Zoro’s eyes narrowed, “You’ve never even been to Fishman Island, have you?”</p><p>“I’d never even heard of the Grand Line before a few days ago,” Percy reminded the swordsman, “Of course I’ve never been to Fishman Island.”</p><p>“So then how…”</p><p>“It’s complicated,” Percy cut him off. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw two flying fish riders intercept Sanji with an iron net and drag him into the ocean.</p><p>“Haha!” cried Duval, the leader of the flying fish riders, “Finally, I get to put an end to Black Leg Sanji!”</p><p>Hachi made to dive into the water when one of the flying fish riders said “that’s not gonna work, octopus man! Flying fish are among the fastest creatures in the sea.”</p><p>“Zoro-,” Percy started.</p><p>“I’m fine,” Zoro assured him, “Go help Sanji.”</p><p>Percy turned to Kaimi. Flying fish may have been fast, but Percy knew that mermaids were faster than any underwater creature he’d ever met. If he had any chance of saving Sanji before he drowned, he needed Kaimi’s help. “Feel like giving me a hand?”</p><p>Kaimi gave him a determined grin, “My Lord, it would be my pleasure.”</p><p>Ignoring the conversations and fighting going on above them, Percy and Kaimi dove into the water.</p><p>“I don’t know how I’m going to cut that,” Percy shouted at Kaimi as they zipped deeper and deeper into the ocean, “My sword-,”</p><p>“Is Celestial Bronze and doesn’t work on mortals and mortal objects,” Kaimi finished, “We can find a solution to your problem later, my Lord, but if you’ll just push those flying fish riders to the surface when I give the signal, I can get to Sanji.”</p><p>Percy grinned. He knew exactly what this mermaid was planning, and he was all for it.</p><p>“I like the way you think, Kaimi,” he told her, “Go for it.”</p><p>Kaimi didn’t need telling twice. With a flick of her tail, she shot ahead of Percy. She was so fast that the flying fish riders couldn’t react quick enough when she twisted them up in their own net. Sanji slipped out in all the commotion, and Kaimi grabbed him.</p><p>“Nice one, Kaimi!” Percy cheered. He’d willed the flying fish riders to the surface when Kaimi fixed him with a look of pure terror.</p><p>“LORD PERSEUS!” she screamed.</p><p>Percy felt a burning pain in his back, then his world went dark.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Nami has a revelation</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Zoro had a headache.</p><p>Zoro also had a myriad of reasons for said headache. Half-healed head injuries caused by brainwashed crewmates? Check. The memory of Thriller Bark refusing to leave him alone? Double Check. Kaimi the mermaid throwing Sanji onto the deck before diving back into the ocean, screaming the entire time that the fishmen got Percy? Check, check and check.</p><p>Wait.</p><p>“WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE FISHMEN HAVE PERCY?” Zoro roared.</p><p>Sanji winced, “I was kind of out of it, but the yellow one tasered Percy in the back. They could be half way to the human shop by now.”</p><p>“Screw that!” said Nami. She dug the heel of her brown sandal into the nearest flying fish rider’s gut.</p><p>“Wake up!” she demanded, “give me the thing you use to breathe underwater!”</p><p>The thug passed a small, pink piece of coral to her before passing out again. Nami grinned and scampered around, lifting pieces of coral off other fallen fish riders like a vulture would scavenge for scraps.</p><p>She tossed a second and third piece of coral at Zoro and Sanji, “C’mon! We’re gonna go help Kaimi!”</p><p>“Normally I’m all for helping the cute mermaid,” said Sanji, “But what about these idiots?”</p><p>Nami gestured around them, “See for yourself. Most of them are down anyway. Luffy and the others can wrap everything up here.”</p><p>Just to prove her point, Luffy drove his fist so hard into Duval’s face that he slammed through two houses.</p><p>“We’re fine!” Luffy shouted, “Go help Percy!”</p><p>Hachi jumped into the water, “I’m not as fast as Kaimi, but I can help you catch up to the Makrel Gang!”</p><p>Zoro didn’t need to be told a third time. Clutching his piece of coral, he dove into the water, Sanji and Nami hot on his heels.</p><p>It turned out that the fishman holding Percy hadn’t gotten very far; Kaimi had seen to that. Using her mermaid powers, Kaimi had summoned a school of fish to swim circles around the yellow fishman and Percy, effectively blocking their exit.</p><p>“Hachin!” she cried, “Zorochin, Namichin, Sanjichin! I think Lord Perseus is dead!”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E</p><p>Nami refused to accept that Percy was dead.</p><p>Percy Jackson was one of the most powerful people she’d ever met; there was no way a simple taser to the back was enough to kill him.</p><p>But tucked under the yellow fishman’s arm, Percy was frighteningly still. From this close, Nami could see only white in his eyes. His mouth hung disturbingly open and his chest was not moving.</p><p>“Absolutely not!” she shouted.</p><p>Sanji put a hand on her shoulder, “Nami, he’s clearly not breathing.”</p><p>“You don’t know that!” she snapped. Sanji recoiled and swam straight at the fishman.</p><p>“I don’t know that!” he repeated, “C’mon, you shitty demigod!”</p><p>
  <em>Love is a powerful force.</em>
</p><p>At that moment, Nami understood what the woman from her dream had meant. Nami’s love for her friend was making her so scared that she was willing to do anything to get him back. Fear and Love were intimately connected; Love could bring out the worst fears in anyone, just as fear could bring out the strongest love.</p><p>And right now, Nami was terrified.</p><p>“PERSEUS JACKSON,” she roared, “YOU WAKE UP RIGHT NOW!”</p><p>Percy’s body seized.</p><p>“Oi, oi,” the fishman said nervously, “Let’s take it easy now, or you’ll never see the Prince again.”</p><p>“It’s all over now,” Zoro smirked.</p><p>Percy opened his glowing blue eyes and the water around them churned violently.</p><p>Nami grinned.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Nami gets a makeover and Percy has a dream</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Sanji and Zoro brought the magic makeover to Nami’s attention only after Percy had brought them to the surface in the center of a friggin’ <em>hurricane</em> and collapsed.</p><p>Leaning over him, Chopper declared that Percy was, in fact, still alive.</p><p>“I don’t know why he passed out though,” Chopper added in the midst of everyone’s sighs of relief, “Demigods are something I don’t know anything about; for all I know, they could have entirely different biological systems.”</p><p>Zoro cleared his throat, “Um, Nami? You wanna explain why you’re glowing?”</p><p>Kaimi gasped, “Oh wow! This must be a claiming!”</p><p>“Claiming?” Nami asked, bewildered, “What are you-,”</p><p>Nami looked down at herself and screamed. Her white shorts and cute, orange top were gone. Now she was wearing a navy blue, shimmering, strapless dress that reached her mid-thighs. Her brown sandals had disappeared, replaced with brilliantly white, strappy sandals that snuck up her calves all the way to her knees. A delicate, silver bracelet with a little dove nestled in the middle adorned her wrist. Wordlessly, Robin handed her a hand mirror. Nami didn’t even recognize the face looking back at her. For the first time in her life, she was wearing makeup, and it was good makeup too, accentuating her cheekbones and bringing out the warmth in her brown eyes. Her hair had been swept into an elegant updo, so as to draw more attention to her face.</p><p>That wasn’t even the weirdest part. A faint, red glow hung around her body like someone had traced her outline with a red highlighter.</p><p>“NAMI!” Sanji noodled, “YOU’RE A KNOCKOUT!”</p><p>Just as they’d done for Percy, Hachi, Pappagu and Kaimi knelt in front of Nami.</p><p>“All hail Nami,” Hachi beamed, “Daughter of Aphrodite.”</p><p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>
  <em>Percy dreamt he was sitting on the head of a metal dragon falling out of the sky.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>This wasn’t in and of itself, a weird thing. Like he’d told Nami, demigods were the experts on weird dreams.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>What was weird, to Percy, anyway, was that he wasn’t alone on this dragon. An elf-like boy with a wild look in his eyes sat directly in front of him, desperately pulling on the reins in an attempt to keep the dragon airborne. Behind him, a blonde boy and a pretty, dark-haired girl clung to each other, screaming their heads off.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Leo, do something!” the girl screamed.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I’m trying!” the elf boy-Leo-snapped, “I think we’re too heavy! Jason, take Piper and go!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Leo…” the blonde boy sounded hesitant, “Are you sure?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“GO!” Leo shouted.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jason gathered Piper in his arms, and disappeared out of sight.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Come on, Festus!” Leo pleaded, “Come on, Dad! Please, save my dragon!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Fire bloomed in Leo’s hair, and Percy’s dream changed. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Percy stood at the center of a circle of plush, green sofas. Five old men in violet suits sat on these sofas, watching each other silently.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You heard the report from Sabaody,” said the oldest-looking one, “A demigod has breached the Four Seas.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“He could spread the truth through the Grand Line,” said the blonde one.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“He must be stopped,” said the mustached one.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“This could prove difficult,” said the one with the longest beard, “As he has joined the Strawhats.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“But they’re on Sabaody,” said the fifth one, who had both a mustache and a beard, “Our children often frequent Sabaody.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The oldest-looking one smiled grimly, sending shivers down Percy’s spine, “Yes, one wrong move, and our children will surely ask for a Buster Call.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“It’s a shame, really,” said the blonde one, “A son of Poseidon could be a great asset to our Marines.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“His truth is too dangerous,” the mustached one reminded the others, “The Four Seas must never know that an entire world exists beyond Raftel.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“No one outside this room can know of the outside world,” said the one with the longest beard, “Not even the rest of Marie Jois.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Out of the corner of his eye, Percy saw a blonde-haired man in a black top hat. The man’s eyes widened before he disappeared into the shadows. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>The fifth old guy glanced behind him, but the man in the top hat was long gone.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Then, the oldest guy looked straight through Percy, and Percy’s dream dissolved.</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Percy gets homesick</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>P.E.R.C.Y J.A.C.K.S.O.N</p><p>Percy woke up feeling like he’d just run a monster-killing marathon. Too weak to move, he instead studied the grooves in the wooden ceiling above him. The soft bed he was on felt too nice to belong in any slave trader’s prison, so he figured that his friends must have rescued him.</p><p>“Percy?”</p><p>Percy let his head fall to his side. Usopp sat in a chair next to him, munching on a stick of fried meat that made Percy’s stomach whine hungrily. Percy tried to ask what it was, but his dry throat betrayed him, and he broke into a fit of coughing.</p><p>“Easy,” said Usopp, tipping a glass of soothing water down Percy’s aching throat, “You’ve been out for a while; don’t try to talk just yet.”</p><p>So Percy let Usopp talk for him. In a soft voice so as not to jar Percy’s piercing headache, Usopp explained how after Nami had essentially ordered him back to life (“Ask her later, man; I still don’t get what happened”), Percy had summoned a hurricane and brought Nami, Zoro, Sanji, Hachi and Kaimi to the surface, then promptly passed out for 3 days (and wasn’t that a mindfuck?). While he was unconscious, the Strawhats had been eating Hachi’s octopus fritters (“Hachi promised to make you some when you woke up”), when Duval found them again. Because Sanji had beaten him up so badly that it made Duval handsome, Duval decided to give the Strawhats his dendenmushi (“the snails,” Usopp had explained) in case they ever needed his help. They arrived in Grove 41, because Hachi had promised to take them to a mechanic there who would coat the Sunny in a substance that would allow them to sail to Fishman Island, but they had to promise not to oppose the World Nobles. The mechanic, Rayleigh, was somewhere on the island and Percy had been asleep in the backroom of Rayleigh’s friend Shakky’s bar ever since. The Strawhats had been turns watching over him so that they could go look for Rayleigh without leaving Percy in the hands of a stranger.</p><p>“Man, after seeing how those Nobles treat their slaves,” Usopp whistled, “I’m glad that Nami got you back when she did.”</p><p>“Where’s Nami?” Percy croaked.</p><p>“I think she’s back on the ship,” Usopp told him, “She’s trying to get Luffy and Zoro to stay on the ship, since they apparently have two of the eleven highest bounties on the island. Hang on, lemme call her…”</p><p>Percy tuned him out, thinking back to the dream that Nami had told him about. The Goddess that visited her was definitely Aphrodite; who else talked about love that much? When Percy woke up that fateful day on the Sunny, he knew that he was outside the realm of anything familiar to him. But for Aphrodite to have sired a child so far out of the Gods sphere of power…could that mean that there were other demigods on the Grand Line? A daughter of Aphrodite would attract a whole slew of monsters; how had the Strawhats not encountered any before Percy?</p><p>Gods, Percy wished this weren’t his problem. He liked his new friends and he wanted Nami to be able to fend for herself, but somewhere, thousands of miles away, Annabeth was looking for him; he was sure of it, just as he was sure that she’d never find him.</p><p>“Hey, hey,” Usopp said worriedly, “Are you ok?”</p><p>Percy realized that his eyes were wet.</p><p>After another coughing fit, he managed to whisper, “Miss my girlfriend.”</p><p>Usopp’s face morphed from worried to sad.</p><p>“Oh,” he said softly. He held up a hand in the universal ‘hold on a second’ gesture, fishing a little picture out of his pocket. Since Percy was still too weak to move, Usopp held it up to his face. The picture was of a woman in an orange suit. She had shoulder-length blonde hair and kind, brown eyes.</p><p>“This is Kaya,” Usopp told him, “I left her behind when I joined Luffy.”</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>Usopp looked thoughtful, “I could say something about how ‘some adventures are just worth it,’ but I don’t think you’d appreciate that.”</p><p>Usopp looked hopefully at Percy, but Percy didn’t budge, so he sighed, “Truthfully, I know that I’m going to see her again, and when I do, I want her to be proud of me. That’s why I’m here.”</p><p>Being proud of him, huh? Percy had spent too long just fighting to stay alive to worry if anyone was proud of him, let alone Annabeth. He liked to think that his mom was proud of him, because she was his mom; that was part of the job description.</p><p>Oh Gods, he missed his mom. He was almost sold to slave traders a few days ago, slave traders that, according to Usopp, used explosive collars on their slaves and shot them in the head when they misbehaved. He needed to be more careful, or else he’d never see his mom, or his stepdad, or Annabeth again.</p><p>“Percy?”</p><p>Percy blinked away the tears in his eyes to see Nami sitting where Usopp had been a moment ago. Usopp, Luffy and Zoro sat on the floor around Percy’s bed.</p><p>“Hi,” he croaked.</p><p>“Glad you’re ok!” Luffy grinned.</p><p>Percy swallowed a knot in his throat, “Yeah,” he looked at Nami, “You did that?”</p><p>After the Titan War, Percy had seen enough claimings at Camp to recognize the blessing of Aphrodite. It was faint (Percy had, after all, been unconscious for three days, according to Usopp) but Percy could still see the makeup and the glowing red aura.</p><p>“I read Robin’s book,” Nami said quietly, “I wanted to know if we’re related.”</p><p>Percy coughed again, “Gods don’t have DNA,” he rasped, “I asked once.”</p><p>“So the book said that Nami’s the daughter of Aphrodite, right?” Usopp asked the group, “Am I saying that right? She’s the goddess of love, according to Robin’s book.”</p><p>“You should have seen Sanji,” Zoro sighed happily, “He got a nosebleed so big it knocked him off the Sunny and into the ocean.”</p><p>“So Nami’s like Percy now,” said Luffy, “Does she have powers like Percy?”</p><p>Percy was a little stunned that their captain was able to follow what was going on, but he managed to croak “Charmspeak,” before bursting into another fit of coughs. This last fit left him so tired that he counted to twenty before his vision cleared again.</p><p>“Boys,” said Nami, her newfound charmspeak rolling over Percy like a comfy blanket, “Why don’t you go back to the ship? I’m sure Sanji would like some help unloading the groceries.”</p><p>The boys got up without a word. If Percy had been able, he probably would have gotten up too; Nami’s charmspeak was just that powerful. Zoro’s eyes narrowed a bit, and Luffy looked a little puzzled, but the boys left without any protest, leaving the two demigods alone in the back of Shakky’s bar.</p><p>“I’ve been practicing,” Nami said proudly, “The monsters don’t even know what hit them.”</p><p>“Monsters?” asked Percy.</p><p>Nami sobered up a bit, “A couple of snake ladies,” she answered truthfully, “A guy with only one eye. They always come when I’m alone, so I’ve been too afraid to leave the ship, most days.”</p><p>At this, Percy felt guilty. He realized now that as a fully-actualized demigod, and a son of Poseidon, one of the Big Three, his scent had so far been masking Nami’s, even after she was exposed to the world of greek mythology. But with him incapacitated, Nami was left to fend for herself.</p><p>“I’ve been doing ok,” Nami said hastily, seeing the look on Percy’s face, “I just persuade them to fall on their own swords, then they turn into dust.”</p><p>Percy’s eyes were drawn to a silver bracelet on Nami’s wrist.</p><p>“Oh, that,” said Nami, “I think my birth mother gave it to me.”</p><p>Percy felt a huge degree of satisfaction at hearing Nami refer to Aphrodite as her ‘birth mother’. Apart from not liking the love goddess very much, Percy had heard the story of Nami’s past. She already had a loving family; just because Arlong had killed her mother didn’t mean that Aphrodite could now swoop in as a replacement. The bracelet was nice though; it reminded Percy of his friend Thalia’s bracelet, and how she used it to summon her shield Aegis.</p><p>“Touch it,” he told Nami.</p><p>Nami looked confused, but did as he asked. She gasped as her bracelet transformed into a Celestial Bronze spear.</p><p>“Hurts monsters,” Percy tried to explain. By now, his breath was coming in shorter and shorter gasps. Apparently, getting injured in your mortal anchor point, then brought back to life by charmspeak, was enough to really wind a guy.</p><p>“I think that’s enough.”</p><p>A woman in a purple tracksuit leaned gracefully in the doorway.</p><p>“Shakky,” Nami greeted.</p><p>“Recently resurrected demigods need their rest,” Shakky said in a raspy voice.</p><p>Nami looked guilty, “You’re right; I just-,”</p><p>“You have questions, and he may or may not have answers,” Shakky finished for her, “But his hypothetical answers will do you no good if he dies of exhaustion. Now, let the boy rest; you and I can practice with that new spear of yours out here.”</p><p>“That ok, Percy?” asked Nami.</p><p>Too tired to answer, Percy slipped into a thankfully dreamless sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Luffy and Zoro go on a date and meet another Rookie.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Contrary to popular belief, Zoro wasn’t stupid. Stubborn? Sure, he could admit that. But Zoro could be perceptive when he wanted to be. When Nami used her new, weird mind control powers to make him, Luffy and Usopp give her and Percy some privacy so they could compare their weird powers, Zoro definitely noticed.</p><p>He didn’t say anything though; if his friends needed some alone time to help each other through their problems, who was he to object?</p><p>Luffy tugged on his hand, bringing Zoro out of his musings.</p><p>“Look!” Luffy gasped in awe, pointing at the ferris wheel, “It’s so pretty!”</p><p>“Yeah, I guess so,” Zoro admitted, trying very hard not to acknowledge the weird stomach ache he always got whenever Luffy touched him.</p><p>Usopp chuckled and pulled out a small money clip.</p><p>“Here,” he said slyly, slipping his allowance into Zoro’s shirt pocket, “I’m done with my shopping anyway, and I know Nami doesn’t give you an allowance anymore because of your debt. Go take him on the ferris wheel.”</p><p>Zoro tried to scowl at Usopp and demand that he stop telling him what to do, but Luffy was already dragging him towards the amusement park.</p><p>“Thanks Usopp!” Luffy called over his shoulder.</p><p>That was weird. Usually, Luffy would never voluntarily choose to hang out with Zoro over Usopp.</p><p>Zoro glanced behind them to see Usopp watching them leave with a weird look on his face.</p><p>“Have fun, you two!” Usopp said in a weird voice that Zoro couldn’t quite pinpoint.</p><p>Ah well, maybe he’d think about it later.</p><p>Using the money Usopp gave them, Zoro bought two popcorns at the entrance.</p><p>“Here,” he handed Luffy a cardboard bucket full of the buttery treat.</p><p>Luffy grinned, “Hey, thanks!”</p><p>Damn, Zoro’s stomach ache was back. Otherwise, he was really enjoying himself. Normally, he didn’t like crowded spaces that much, unless they were bars, but climbing into a bubble in a red and white stripped, metallic box with Luffy, Zoro decided that maybe, amusement parks weren’t so bad.</p><p>Luffy put his popcorn in his lap.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” asked Zoro, “Don’t you like it?”</p><p>“It’s not that,” Luffy said quietly, “Was Percy really dead?”</p><p>Zoro shrugged, “Does it matter? He’s alive now."</p><p>The ferris wheel whirred to life as tinny music began to play through a bright yellow speaker above their heads. Zoro and Luffy saw Hachi, Kaimi, Pappagu and Chopper munching on cotton candy from a food stand just outside the park. Kaimi laughed and waved at them from her perch atop Hachi’s shoulder. Zoro was glad that she seemed to have gotten over her glumness at not being able to ride the ferris wheel.</p><p>“Oi, Zoro.”</p><p>“Hm?”</p><p>The ferris wheel grated to a halt, leaving the two Strawhats with a breathtaking view of the ocean through the mangrove trees.</p><p>“Did you die?” Luffy wouldn’t meet his eyes, “Back on Thriller Bark?”</p><p>
  <em>“Luffy is the man who will become the Pirate King!”</em>
</p><p>“I’m alive now too,” Zoro decided on an answer, “That’s all that matters. But that’s not all that’s bothering you, is it?”</p><p>Sometimes Zoro hated how easily he could read his captain. Luffy took off his hat and pulled a little piece of white paper out of the red brim.</p><p>“Ace’s Vivre Card,” Zoro supplied.</p><p>Luffy turned it over to show Zoro the burning edges.</p><p>The sound of children shrieking with laughter drowned out the silence in the ferris wheel cart.</p><p>“You haven’t told the others yet?” Zoro guessed.</p><p>Luffy swallowed uncomfortably. “No,” he admitted, “I don’t know what I’d say.”</p><p>Zoro put a comforting hand on Luffy’s bare knee, “You’d say that you’re worried about your brother,” he told his captain, “You’d show the others Ace’s Vivre Card, and they’d all agree immediately to go and save him.”</p><p>Luffy’s eyes were wet, but he still shook his head.</p><p>“No,” he said firmly, “Ace can take care of himself. We’re gonna go ahead to Fishman Island.”</p><p>Zoro studied Luffy carefully.</p><p>“Alright,” he sighed, “But you give the word and we’ll turn around.”</p><p>Luffy gave him a watery smile as the ferris wheel came to a stop at the bottom, “Yeah!”</p><p>The two made to get out of the ferris wheel, only for a man in a white, fur hat to push his way into their cart.</p><p>“Excuse me,” he said politely, leaning his sword, which was at least Luffy’s height, against the sticky bench.</p><p>The three sat in silence until their cart reached the top of the wheel again.</p><p>“Can we help you?” asked Zoro.</p><p>The man held up a hand in a gesture of peace, “Easy, Roronoa, I just wanted to meet you two.”</p><p>Luffy leaned back, his arms crossed. “You’re one of the Rookies that Shakky told us about,” he guessed, “Another Supernova?” he glanced at Zoro, “That’s what they’re calling us, right?”</p><p>Zoro shrugged, “I wasn’t listening too hard.”</p><p>The look this guy was giving them unnerved Zoro. Back when he was a bounty hunter, he’d once come across a kid who was pulling apart a live frog with the exact same look on her face. When he’d asked her why, she told him she wanted to see how it ticked.</p><p>Yeah, this guy looked ready to slice them apart to see how they ticked. Zoro leaned out of his seat, ready to attack, but Luffy held out a hand to stop him.</p><p>“You wanted to meet us,” said Luffy, “You’re not making much of a first impression.”</p><p>“And you’re far more perceptive than others would have me believe,” said the stranger, “Fine. My name is Trafalgar Law, but you can call me Law.”</p><p>“You’re trying to become Pirate King,” said Luffy.</p><p>Law leaned forward, “I am, and I think I might have a proposition that will get the both of us much closer to our shared goal. It involves the Yonko.”</p><p>“You’re suggesting an alliance,” Zoro guessed, “To take out one or more of the Yonko and split up their territory between us.”</p><p>Law’s creepy smile widened, “If you two are such surprises, I can’t wait to meet the rest of your crew.”</p><p>Zoro’s hand drifted to Wado, “What makes you think you’ll get to? Our captain hasn’t even agreed to hear you out yet.”</p><p>Law looked to Luffy, “Well? Are you going to call off your first mate and hear my offer? Or are we going to have a problem?”</p><p>Zoro looked to Luffy too; creepy or not, if Luffy trusted Law, Zoro would too. Zoro trusted Luffy implicitly.</p><p>“You seem cool,” said Luffy, “But-,” he added when Law made to speak, “The rest of my crew has to meet you. If they like you too, then we’ll listen. But you better not be thinking of taking down Shanks or Whitebeard.”</p><p>Law’s dark eyebrows flew beneath his white hat. “Wouldn’t dream of it,” he said calmly, “I’ll find you later, then.”</p><p>The ferris wheel grinded to a halt and Law got up to leave.</p><p>“It was a pleasure to meet you,” Law said while slinking out of the tiny box, “Monkey D. Luffy and Roronoa Zoro. I’m sure we’ll be able to do business soon.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Some days, Chopper really missed Dr. Kureha.</p><p>His homesickness usually came about in very hot climates, like that of Alabasta. Hot places made him remember that he hadn’t seen snow since he left home.</p><p>But sometimes, when he faced a particularly difficult patient, he found himself missing Dr. Kureha. His old mentor always seemed to know what to do.</p><p>Take now, for instance. Percy had developed a fever, and Chopper had no idea why or how to fix it.</p><p>“He’s not getting better, is he?”</p><p>Chopper glanced up at Sanji. The cook lounged in a corner, leafing through Robin’s book on Greek Mythology while twirling a cigarette between his long, slender fingers.</p><p>“No,” said Chopper, frustrated, “I don’t know what to do! He’s half-human, right? So I should be at least a little familiar with his physiology. But I don’t know why he’s getting worse and I don’t know why a taser to the back was enough to nearly kill him!”</p><p>Sanji turned another page and sighed, “Look, you’ve treated Nami before, right? She’s a demigod, like Percy.”</p><p>Chopper rung out a clean washcloth and placed it gently across Percy’s sweaty forehead, “Nami’s never died and come back to life just from a taser to the back. Where is she, anyway?”</p><p>“I don’t like it, but she’s sparing with Brook,” Sanji said absently, “Since she needs the practice, Brook and Luffy are the only ones who can even kind of touch her spear, and Luffy and Zoro are off getting each other lost.”</p><p>Chopper giggled, “We saw them on the ferris wheel earlier. They looked like they were having fun on their-,”</p><p>“Everyone shut up,” Sanji interrupted, leaping to his feet and slamming the book shut, “I think I found what’s wrong with Percy.”</p><p>This piqued Chopper’s attention. “Tell me,” he ordered.</p><p>Sanji opened the book again and flipped through the pages, stopping on a story called ‘The Curse of Achilles’</p><p>“Ok, so you remember how Brook told us how Franky’s bullets couldn’t hurt Percy?” Sanji started excitedly, “I think it’s because of this!”</p><p>“The Curse of Achilles?” asked Chopper, glancing back at Percy.</p><p>“Yeah!” said Sanji, “Long story short, this Achilles guy bathed in a river in the underworld and it made him almost entirely invincible.”</p><p>“That would explain Percy being bulletproof,” Chopper agreed, “Wait, what do you mean, ‘almost’?”</p><p>Sanji jabbed his finger at a passage in the book, “It says here that because Achilles was mortal and alive, he needed to anchor himself to the mortal world. His mom held him by his ankle and dunked him in the river that way. That’s why an Achilles Heel is someone’s weak spot.”</p><p>“So when Percy got tasered,” Chopper started, recognition dawning on him in horror, “The Makrel Gang got lucky, and hit him in his Achilles Heel!”</p><p>Sanji whistled, “How is he still alive?”</p><p>“Because of Nami’s charmspeak,” said a voice at the door.</p><p>“Oh, hey Hachi,” Chopper greeted the octopus fishman stooping his head to fit in the tiny room.</p><p>“Why is Lord Perseus still in bed?” asked Hachi, pink eyebrows furrowed in concern.</p><p>Sanji’s curly eyebrow twitched in annoyance, “Are you blind? He’s only woken up once in 4 days.”</p><p>Hachi pushed past Sanji and Chopper and scooped Percy up in his eight arms.</p><p>“What are you doing?” Chopper shrieked, “He’s not strong enough to get out of bed!”</p><p>“It’s ok,” Hachi assured them, dodging a flying kick from Sanji, “King Neptune is like us, and being in water makes us feel better, so Percy should be in water!”</p><p>“Sound logic,” Sanji snapped, “And where’s your proof?”</p><p>“Let Hachi go, kids,” Shakky called from the bar.</p><p>“Shakky,” said Chopper, “Do you have any proof that Hachi can help Percy?”</p><p>“Relax, honey,” Shakky put a hand on the little reindeer’s pink hat as he and Sanji followed Hachi out of the back room, “Even if Hachi can’t, Percy can breathe under water, can’t he? What’s the harm in tossing him off the dock?”</p><p>“I guess so,” said Chopper.</p><p>Shakky laughed and took Chopper’s hoof, “C’mon, honey, let’s go help your nakama.”</p><p>The two followed Shakky down the stone steps outside to where Hachi stood at the shore, Percy cradled in his arms. Before Chopper or Sanji could say anything, Hachi dumped Percy into the water.</p><p>“How do we know he’s not drowning?” Chopper asked Hachi.</p><p>“He is a son of Poseidon,” said Hachi, “He can’t drown.”</p><p>“Yeah, ok,” Sanji rolled his eyes, “But is that still true now? When he’s so weak?”</p><p>Hachi looked scarily less sure of himself, “Nuu, I will go watch over him.”</p><p>Without waiting for any objections, Hachi jumped in the water after Percy.</p><p>“Now what?” Chopper asked Shakky.</p><p>“I’m NOT leaving him down there with just the octopus,” said Sanji, making to take his shoes off.</p><p>Shakky stopped him, “What are you going to do about it? You can’t breathe underwater like they can.”</p><p>Sanji sighed, “I guess you’re right. Come on, Chopper, you can help me make dinner.”</p><p>“But-,” Chopper tried to protest. He too had heard Nami’s story; Hachi was great fun, but Chopper still didn’t feel comfortable leaving their weakened nakama alone with him.</p><p>Sanji pointed his cigarette to two figures off in the near distance. One of them kept falling on her butt and shouting loudly before getting back up and throwing herself at the other figure.</p><p>“Nami and Brook are just over there,” he reassured the little reindeer, “I’m sure they’ll let us know if something happens.”</p><p>“I guess so…” Chopper hesitated, glancing back at the water.</p><p>“I think I picked up some cotton candy at the store today,” Sanji said slyly, “You’d better get back to the ship before Usopp finds Luffy and Zoro, or else Luffy will eat it all.”</p><p>“Not the cotton candy!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Percy learns a new power and Kaimi gets kidnapped</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>Percy woke up underwater.</p><p>Percy had only ever woken up underwater once before in his life, and that was after Beckendorf had sacrificed himself to take out a fleet of the Titan Army. After that explosion, that still haunted Percy’s nightmares months later, Percy had woken up in his father’s palace somewhere in the Atlantic.</p><p>Waking up now, Percy felt a lot better than he had when he woke up in his father’s palace.</p><p>This was odd to him, as he remembered feeling like chariot roadkill before he’d passed out again.</p><p>“Lord Perseus?”</p><p>Percy did a very un-manly ‘eep!’ and did a backflip into a patch of kelp.</p><p>Hachi helped Percy out of the kelp, looking slightly concerned, “How do you feel?”</p><p>“Great,” said Percy, and he meant it. He felt stronger than he had in days.</p><p>Hachi grinned, “I knew it! You ARE like us?”</p><p>This puzzled Percy, “What do you mean?”</p><p>“Well,” said Hachi, “Fishmen and mermaids always feel stronger in water. King Neptune is a merman, so I thought that you would get better in the water too!”</p><p>“Looks like I owe you one, Hachi,” said Percy, “How long have we been down here?”</p><p>Hachi frowned, “It’s hard to say. Maybe, a few hours? We can go back up now that you’re feeling better.”</p><p>Percy’s stomach did a flip. Why was going to the surface making him so uneasy?</p><p>“You don’t want to go to the surface,” Hachi guessed, “Why?”</p><p>Percy found a rock that wasn’t too covered in sand, and sat down. Hachi followed his lead, perching on an outcropping of coral.</p><p>“Kaimi pointed out to me that I’m getting stronger because we’ve been out at sea for so long,” Percy started, “But I’m afraid that I’m relying too much on being near water.”</p><p>Percy uncapped Riptide, “My sword doesn’t even work on most enemies we’ve faced in the past few days. What am I going to do when there’s no water around?”</p><p>Hachi hummed thoughtfully, “Nuu, Lord Perseus, your new crew is very strong. Surely you could rely on them to keep you safe?”</p><p>Percy shook his head. “No,” he said firmly, “Athena once told me that my fatal flaw was my loyalty to my friends. I’m not going to just sit back and do nothing while my friends fight.”</p><p>“That’s an admirable flaw to have, Lord Perseus,” said Hachi, “As for your water problem, there’s water in everything; you just need to look for it.”</p><p>This intrigued Percy, “My dad’s the Lord of the Sea,” he started, “Not the Lord of all water…right?”</p><p>“Only one way to find out!” Hachi said brightly, “Let’s go to your ship.”</p><p>They climbed up the back of the ship to find it empty.</p><p>Well, mostly empty. Franky and Robin were enjoying a moment to themselves beneath the biggest tree on the deck. Robin leaned against Franky, reading him a book on engineering while Franky guzzled a barrel of coke.</p><p>Percy cleared his throat and the two older Strawhats looked up.</p><p>“Percy,” Robin greeted the demigod, not at all surprised to see him, “It’s good to see you awake.”</p><p>“Yo, Percy-bro!” Franky called, “Feeling Super again, are you?”</p><p>Percy had walked in on enough of his mom and his stepdad’s date nights to know that he’d interrupted a special moment between Franky and Robin.</p><p>“Hey,” he said, hoping his face didn’t look too guilty, “We can go somewhere else, if you two are busy.”</p><p>“Not at all,” Robin dismissed him, “What do you need?”</p><p>“We’re going to train!” Hachi announced.</p><p>Franky sat up, “This should be interesting.”<br/>Percy didn’t really want to train with an audience, but he followed Hachi to the deck.</p><p>“Like I said,” Hachi began, “There’s water everywhere. Try to concentrate.”</p><p>Percy closed his eyes. The feel of the sea underneath them was as present as ever, but Percy knew that wasn’t what he was supposed to be looking for.</p><p>“What’s he doing?” Percy heard Franky whisper to Robin.</p><p>“Shh,” Robin shushed him, “Let him concentrate.”</p><p>Percy held out his palm. <em>Come on, Dad, </em>he prayed, <em>Help me help my friends. Show me what I’m supposed to be doing.</em></p><p>He felt the air around him begin to hum. Concentrating on the air in front of him, Percy opened his eyes, and pulled.</p><p>Percy lost his concentration immediately, for when he pulled at the air, water had appeared before his very eyes.</p><p>“Cool,” he grinned. Now he could help his friends, “Thanks, Hachi.”</p><p>Hachi beamed, “I told you there’s water everywhere! Now you just need to practice!”</p><p>Percy pulled his pen out of his pocket, “And my sword? What am I going to do about that?”</p><p>“Sword?” Robin asked curiously, “Is this another trick of the mist?”</p><p>Percy clicked the top, “Yeah.”</p><p>“Looks like a baseball bat to me,” said Franky, “What a super trick!”</p><p>“Come and find me when you get to Fishman Island,” Hachi told him, “I will figure something out.”</p><p>Percy felt a swell in gratitude. However horrible Hachi may have been in the past, Percy knew that he was a changed octopus, and that Luffy was the one to bring on that change.</p><p>At that moment, the door to the galley slammed open.</p><p>“Guys!” Sanji called, sounding worried, “Chopper says that Kaimi’s been kidnapped!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Luffy punches a Celestial Dragon</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>Percy had his obvious reservations about Sanji asking the Flying Fish Riders for help.</p><p>Sure, they called themselves the Rosy Life Riders now, but they’d still been working with the fishman that nearly killed Percy.</p><p><em>Suck it up, </em>Percy scolded himself, <em>Kaimi’s in trouble.</em></p><p>Percy knew he was privileged in that he passed for a full mortal; Kaimi and Hachi didn’t have that luxury. So whatever lingering fears he had about the human shop, Percy knew he needed to push through to help his friend.</p><p>
  <em>“We found the right shop! She’s on Grove 1!”</em>
</p><p>“You hear that, Sea Lord?” said the Flying Fish Rider with whom Percy was hitching a ride.</p><p>“Yeah,” said Percy, “First off, stop calling me that. Second, let’s go get Kaimi.”</p><p>They passed Luffy and Zoro on the way there. Both were outraged that Kaimi had been taken, and hopped on two more Flying Fish to follow Percy to the human shop.</p><p>The three Strawhats were the last to arrive at the human shop. Sanji and the others were in a circle, trying to get one of the auction house employees to let them in.</p><p>“Just let us in already!” Franky shouted, aiming his gun arm at the door, “Or we’ll force our way in.”</p><p>“Franky, you can’t,” Hachi slapped his hand over Franky’s arm, “There are Celestial Dragons in there!”</p><p>Percy hopped off his Flying Fish, Luffy and Zoro hot on his tail.</p><p>“We don’t need to force our way in,” Percy announced, “This nice man is going to let us in, isn’t he, Nami?”</p><p>Recognition dawned on Nami’s face, and she smiled wickedly.</p><p>Nami talked the Strawhats’ way into the auction house just in time for Kaimi to be wheeled out on stage.</p><p>“Now what,” said Robin, “We don’t have much time.”</p><p>Nami balled her fists, “I can take care of it.”<br/>“Are you sure?” Percy asked, concerned, “You’re still pretty new at this, and that’s a lot of people.”</p><p>Luffy put a hand on his shoulder, “Let her go,” he said calmly, “Nami’s got this.”</p><p>The Strawhats followed Nami past rows of snobby, upper class humans and Eustass Kid and Trafalgar Law’s crews.</p><p>“Uh,” the announcer looked on the verge of a conniption fit, “Are you making a bid?”</p><p>“No,” Nami said loudly and confidently, “You’re going to take off her collar and give us the mermaid for free.”</p><p>Gasps and cries of outrage rose from the audience like a swarm of angry bees. Zoro’s hand drifted to his swords, Luffy cracked his knuckles and Sanji extinguished his cigarette.</p><p>“She’s got this,” Percy insisted to his friends, “I didn’t believe it at first, but Nami’s charmspeak is miles ahead of what it should be after only a week of practice.”</p><p>It reminded him a lot of the time Selina Beauregard tamed a bronze dragon with just her voice. Percy liked to think that Selina would be happy to have a sister like Nami; maybe he’d tell Nami about his fallen friend if they ever got out of the auction house alive.</p><p>As the auctioneer went to free Kaimi, Nami turned to the audience, “We’re going to leave, and you’re not going to follow or call the Marines.”</p><p>The cries of outrage died down. One woman near Percy turned and struck up a conversation with her neighbor. The rest of the auction house followed until no one was even looking at the Strawhats.</p><p>“Nuu, nice work, Nami,” said Hachi, slinging a shaken Kaimi over his shoulder, “Now, let’s get out of here!”</p><p>They passed Kid and Law by the door, neither of whom looked very charmed.</p><p>The man that Percy now knew to be Trafalgar Law slunk up to Nami.</p><p>“Your crew certainly is a surprise,” he purred, inspecting Nami in a way that made Percy very uneasy, “Monkey d Luffy, Roronoa Zoro, don’t forget what we talked about.”</p><p>Everyone turned their attention to Luffy and Zoro.</p><p>“We’ll explain later,” Zoro said impatiently, “Now’s not the time.”</p><p>“For once, this idiot is right,” said Sanji, earning himself a cry of outrage from Zoro, “We need to get out of here.”</p><p>Eustass Kid pushed his way to Luffy and Zoro, roughly shoving Percy to the ground.</p><p>“Hey!” Percy complained. Everyone ignored him.</p><p>“We’re gonna meet again real soon, Strawhat Luffy,” Kid grinned, thrusting a metallic finger at Luffy’s chest, “And when we do, I’m gonna kick your crazy ass.”</p><p>Zoro moved with a level of speed that Percy had yet to see from his accident-prone friend, only for a man in a white and blue-stripped mask to intercept him with his scythe.</p><p>“Oi, Eustass, Strawhat,” Law said urgently, “Call off your attack dogs and look behind you.”</p><p>BANG!</p><p>Percy looked behind him in horror as Hachi went down, blood pouring from a gunshot wound in his chest.</p><p>“Hachin!” Kaimi sobbed as she spilled onto the floor.</p><p>“I-I thought it worked,” Nami stammered, tears brimming in her shocked eyes.</p><p>Percy cursed. He should have known that Nami’s charmspeak wouldn’t be strong enough to last very long; their little chat with Kid and Law had given the whiniest of the Celestial Dragons the chance to recover, shoot Hachi, and do a little dance.</p><p>“I caught a fishman!” he crowed, still doing his terrible little dance, “That means I get the fishman and the mermaid for free! Look at me! I caught a fishman!”</p><p>Percy concentrated, “Come on,” he muttered. Finally, he succeeded in pulling enough water out of the air to heal Hachi.</p><p>“Interesting,” Law hummed, “I didn’t know you had two doctors, Strawhat Luffy.”</p><p>Luffy paid Law no attention; he was too busy advancing on the Celestial Dragon.</p><p>“Get away from me!” the Celestial Dragon shrieked, firing shot after shot at Luffy with no success.</p><p>Percy felt conflicted when Luffy knocked out the Celestial Dragon with one punch. On one hand, this meant that a Navy Admiral would come to Sabaody. On another, the Celestial Dragon was very annoying.</p><p>“How dare you do this to Charloss!” shouted the female Celestial Dragon, aiming her flintlock straight at Kaimi, “If this fish is the reason for all this trouble, then I should just kill her now.”</p><p>Zoro growled and Percy did a double take, or should he say a triple take? Zoro did now have three heads after all.</p><p><em>Demon Mist Asura, </em>said all three of the heads.</p><p>“Lookin’ scary there, Zoro,” said Usopp. Percy, Chopper and Brook nodded emphatically.</p><p>“You know, I once met a guy with three bodies,” Percy told Chopper as they laid Hachi out to assess and triage the damage.</p><p>“Eeeeh! Really?” Chopper gasped, “Where is he now?”</p><p>Percy rubbed his neck sheepishly, “Probably in Tartarus.”</p><p>“That’s hell, right?” asked Chopper, then, when he figured it out, “Percy!” he wailed, “Are you a murderer?”</p><p>“No! No!” Percy hastily reassured the doctor, “Monsters can’t die forever; they reform in Tartarus then come back to the Land of the Living.”</p><p>“Eto, Percy-san, Chopper-san,” said Brook, “I feel I must point out that now isn’t the best time for this?”</p><p>Percy and Chopper looked up. All of the Celestial Dragons and their guards were unconscious, strewn about the auction house like loose bits of ugly clothing. Luffy, Kid and Law were nowhere to be found. In their place was an old man with glasses.</p><p>“Looks like we missed something,” said Percy.</p><p>“Eeeeh! You’re right!” Chopper exclaimed, “Who’s that?”</p><p>The old guy with the glasses knelt between Percy and Chopper. Percy wrinkled his nose; this guy smelled just like his ex-stepfather Gabe.</p><p>“No need to look at me like that, kid,” the old guy chuckled, “I’m just sticking around for my friend here, after all.”<br/>“Nuu, Rayleigh,” Hachi groaned.</p><p>“Whaaaa? You’re the coating mechanic we were looking for?” asked Chopper.</p><p>Rayleigh grinned, “We went over all of this while you and your doctor friend were talking, but yes, that’s me.”</p><p>“I’m not a doctor,” Percy told the old man, “I’m just trying to help.”</p><p>Rayleigh fixed him with a scrutinizing look, “Oh I know just what you are,” he said calmly, “It’s been decades since I’ve seen a demigod on the Grand Line,” he glanced at Nami, “Let alone two in one crew.”</p><p>With the hand he wasn’t using to staunch Hachi’s bleeding, Percy reached for Riptide. Nami brought out her spear.</p><p>“Oh, those won’t work on me,” Rayleigh dismissed them, “I’m as mortal as they come, kids.”</p><p>“Rayleigh,” Hachi grunted, trying and failing to sit up, “C-Can you help them?”</p><p>“Rest, my friend,” said Rayleigh, “Of course I can.”</p><p>The sound of shouts and gunfire breached the relatively quiet auction house.</p><p>“Looks like our captains are having a party,” said Zoro, baring his teeth in a feral grin.</p><p>“Let’s crash it,” Sanji agreed, “Anyone who hurt Kaimi is mine.”</p><p>“What do you think?” Percy asked Chopper, gesturing at Hachi.</p><p>“He should be stable enough to move,” said Chopper, growing to his heavy point, “But he’ll need further treatment when we get somewhere safe.”</p><p>“The rest of you can come with us,” Zoro called to Kid and Law’s crews, “But once we get outside, you’re on your own.”</p><p>The masked guy snorted, “Fine by us; we didn’t want your help anyway.”</p><p>“Yeah,” the polar bear in the orange jumpsuit chimed in, “Your captain caused this mess in the first place!”</p><p>“How do you talk!?!” Percy shouted then, when everyone looked at him, “What? It’s not like you weren’t thinking it.”</p><p>“I’m sorry,” said the polar bear, dejected.</p><p>“We’re wasting time here,” said Zoro, “Let’s go help Luffy and get Hachi somewhere safe.”</p><p>“Rayleigh?” asked Hachi.</p><p>“I’m with you, my friend,” Rayleigh promised the octopus.</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>If it weren’t for Luffy, Franky and Percy, the Strawhats would’ve been swiss cheese the moment they stepped outside. The three bulletproof Strawhats jumped in front of the barrage of bullets, shielding their nakama from harm.</p><p>“What the hell’s wrong with these freaks?” a marine hollered.</p><p>“I know, it’s like they’re all monsters!”</p><p>Chopper’s ears twitched, “Monster?”</p><p>
  <em>Koku tei Roseo!</em>
</p><p>“DON’T CALL ME A MONSTER!”</p><p>“That’s the spirit, Chopper!” Luffy cheered, charing after his own batch of marines, “Come on, guys! Let’s get out of here!”</p><p>“Luffy,” said Sanji, pointing at the Rosy Life Riders on a hill nearby, “Look.”</p><p>“Young master!” Duval called, “We came to help you escape!”</p><p>“I didn’t want their help,” Sanji grumbled, “But if they’re here…”</p><p>“It’ll be fun!” Luffy laughed, “C’mon let’s go!”</p><p>“If you say so,” Sanji rolled his eyes and jogged after Luffy only to almost lose his head to a marine with dreadlocks.</p><p>If it weren’t for Percy, Sanji really would have lost his head. In one, swift motion, Percy pushed Sanji to the ground while simultaneously intercepting the attacking marine’s sword with another, navy-issued cutlass that he’d scavenged from the ground.</p><p>“Hey, thanks,” said Sanji, kicking the marine away.</p><p>“Don’t mention it,” Percy said cheerfully, running up to the marine and smacking the butt of his sword into the man’s skull. The marine crumpled to the ground, out cold.</p><p>“You seem happy,” Sanji noticed, knocking out three more marines.</p><p>Percy slashed and smacked his way through a path of marines till he was back to back with Sanji, “It’s been a while since I’ve been able to use a sword.”</p><p>Sanji’s eyes widened, “You mean your bat?”</p><p>“It’s really a sword,” Percy confirmed, “But it doesn’t work on mortals.”</p><p>
  <em>Oni Giri!</em>
</p><p>“Come on!” Zoro shouted impatiently, “We need to go!”</p><p>“We’re coming!” Sanji shouted, “Geez!”</p><p>Luffy, Sanji and Percy ran after the others, Luffy laughing like a madman the whole time.</p><p>“After them!”</p><p>But sadly for them, the marines didn’t get the chance to pursue the Strawhats, for just as the remaining marines had fixed their formation, a devastating blast of electricity cleared the field.</p><p>“Nice one, Nami!” Usopp cheered.</p><p>Nami grinned. With Shakky’s help, she’d figured out that her spear could be used as a conductor for her lightning. This meant that her Thunder Tempo could hit so many more enemies now. Maybe she’d actually have to thank the goddess claiming to be her mother.</p><p>“Let’s get Hachi to Shakky’s,” said Rayleigh, “Then I’ll answer all the questions I know you’re dying to ask me, young doctor.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Rayleigh explains some things</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Would it be wrong of Chopper to say that he was a little jealous of Percy’s powers?</p><p>As a doctor, being able to heal at the cellular level, which is what Chopper was almost positive that Percy was doing, was a power that Chopper would kill for; Chopper’s powers just made him more monster-like than before he ate a Devil Fruit.</p><p>“You must be a son of Neptune,” Rayleigh guessed from his place at Shakky’s bar, “I thought children of the Big Three were banned cuz of some prophecy or whatever.”</p><p>“They were,” Percy agreed, “But I’m a son of Poseidon, not Neptune.”</p><p>Rayleigh’s eyes went wide, “By Kami, Roger was right.”</p><p>Nami took a seat next to Rayleigh at the bar, “I think you have some explaining to do, Mr. Rayleigh.”</p><p>“Rayleigh, you really didn’t tell them who you are?” Shakky scolded the old man.</p><p>Rayleigh laughed, “I didn’t think it necessary while we were escaping the auction house.”</p><p>He took a swig of his whisky, and sighed, “In the old days, they called me Silvers Rayleigh. I was Gol d Roger’s First Mate.”</p><p>“Eeeeh!?!?” exclaimed everyone except Percy.</p><p>“He’s in so many books he’s legendary,” Nami cried.</p><p>“Rayleigh’s definitely a name that everyone knows,” said Sanji, “But I thought the Navy captured Roger’s crew. What’s a big shot pirate doing on the Grand Line? And why do you know that Nami and Percy are demigods?”</p><p>Rayleigh rose an eyebrow, “I know lots of things about the world. I even know about you, Black Leg Sanji.”</p><p>At this, Sanji choked on his own cigarette.</p><p>“Sanji-san!” cried Brook, “Are you ok?”</p><p>“Fine, fine,” Sanji coughed, then glared at Rayleigh, “It’s nothing.”</p><p>Zoro’s eyes narrowed. Robin and Nami gave Sanji concerned looks.</p><p>“Anyway,” Rayleigh said cheerfully, “The Navy didn’t capture Roger; he turned himself in.”</p><p>“What?!?” everyone exclaimed.</p><p>“The King of the Pirates turned himself in?” Nami gasped.</p><p>“Sure,” Percy muttered sarcastically, “That explains everything.”</p><p>“He had a fatal disease,” said Rayleigh, “He fought it for four years before deciding to turn himself in.”</p><p>“So tragic!” Brook cried.</p><p>“With his final words, he turned an example of Navy power into the start of the Great Pirate Era,” Rayleigh said wistfully, “But what the world never knew, was that Roger was a son of Mercury.”</p><p>Percy blinked, “Uh…you mean Hermes?”</p><p>Rayleigh finished his whiskey and set it down with a ‘clank!’ “Nope, I mean Mercury. Roger taught us all about the Roman Gods and prophecies and all that.”</p><p>The old man eyed Percy and Nami, “So imagine my surprise when I meet not one, but two demigods today who appear to be Greek.”</p><p>“How can you tell?” Nami asked curiously.</p><p>Rayleigh pointed at the celestial bronze spear strapped to Nami’s back, “You fight with Celestial Bronze, my dear; Roger always said the stuff was damn near extinct. He used a sword made of Imperial Gold.”</p><p>Nami’s eyes shone with excitement, “Sounds expensive!”</p><p>“My girlfriend, Annabeth, mentioned it once,” said Percy, “She said it’s super rare.”</p><p>“Clearly forces beyond my understanding are at work here,” said Rayleigh, “Roger always had a suspicion that the Greek Gods were real. He wanted to do more research after Raftel.”<br/>Percy shot to his feet as if Nami had electrocuted him, “I had a dream,” he told his crew, “While I was out cold, I mean. These old guys said that I’m proof that a whole world exists beyond Raftel, and that nobody could know, not even the rest of…what was it? Mary Joys?”</p><p>Sanji choked on his new cigarette, “Damn, that sounds like the Five Elders.”</p><p>“Why do you know so much about Marie Jois, Sanjichin?” Kaimi asked innocently.</p><p>“Don’t worry about it,” Sanji waved her off, “The more important story here is what Percy’s saying.”</p><p>Percy had never seen Robin look so excited.</p><p>“I thought it was a myth,” Robin said excitedly, “My mother told me once when I was a child about huge continents full of people and countries and new animals. You’re saying that it’s real? That after we reach Raftel…”</p><p>“We’ll be able to get Percy home!” Luffy cheered.</p><p>“I can introduce you to all your brothers and sisters,” Percy told Nami.</p><p>“Wait what-.”</p><p>“That must be part of why Roger was executed,” said Zoro, “He knew the truth.”</p><p>Everyone went quiet.</p><p>“The truth that an entire world exists beyond Raftel,” Percy echoed the words spoken in his dream, “That would undermine all the power that the World Government holds, wouldn’t it?”</p><p>Franky whistled, “With that kind of knowledge on our side, the marines are gonna try everything to bring us in.”</p><p>“And you’ll cross that bridge when you get there,” said Rayleigh, “Now then, you wanted to get your ship coated, right? Since you’ve helped Hachi so much, I won’t charge you.”</p><p>Everyone cheered while Robin got to her feet.</p><p>“Wait a second, Rayleigh,” said Robin, looking troubled, “What is the Will of D? The Poneglyph on Sky Island had Roger’s name inscribed on it. How could he interpret that writing? Please tell me! Did he learn what happened during the Void Century?”</p><p>Silence.</p><p>“Yes,” Rayleigh said at last, “We know. We learned all of it. But Miss-,”</p><p>Robin gasped.</p><p>“Don’t be so hasty. This is your adventure, you know. I can tell you what you want to know, but maybe after seeing the world, you’ll have a different outlook on it. Would you still like me to tell you?”<br/>Percy watched Robin sigh, “No, I’ll pass, thanks.”</p><p>She glanced at Franky and smiled, “I’ll continue with my travels.”</p><p>“Are you sure, Robin?” asked Usopp, “It looks like you’re passing up a great opportunity.”</p><p>Then, hit with a stroke of brilliance, Usopp asked the golden question. “Hey, Rayleigh! The legendary treasure Roger talked about at his execution, is the One Piece real?”</p><p>“STOP!” Luffy roared. Everyone flinched and Usopp fell down.</p><p>“I don’t wanna know!” Luffy scolded Usopp, “That’ll ruin the adventure that we’re risking everything for! I’d rather give up being a pirate than follow any path other than finding out for ourselves!”</p><p>“Do you think you have what it takes to rule the sea?” Rayleigh asked Luffy.</p><p>“I don’t wanna rule anything,” Luffy pouted, “Being King of the Pirates is about being more free than anything else!”</p><p>“Well, that’s that,” said Percy.</p><p>“I guess I’ll head over to your ship now,” said Rayleigh, “I’m gonna move it to somewhere more secluded than Grove 1 because I need 3 days to complete the coating process.”</p><p>“Why three days?” asked Percy.</p><p>“You may be able to get to Fishman Island without bursting like a rotten fruit,” said Rayleigh, “But for the coating to work properly, it needs time to set.”</p><p>“Three days it is, then,” said Zoro, “We’ll need to split up to make ourselves into smaller targets. We’ll regroup at the Sunny in 3 days.”</p><p>“Who’s that guy strategizing over there,” Sanji grumbled, “It sure ain’t Zoro.”</p><p>Luffy grabbed Zoro’s hand and everyone had the pleasure of watching Zoro’s face go as red as a tomato.</p><p>“So cute!” Nami whispered to Robin, who giggled and agreed with her.</p><p>“Percy, you can come with me and Sanji,” said Nami, hanging off Sanji in a way that brought tears of joy to the cook’s eyes.</p><p>“Brook, I’m scared of the marines,” Chopper cried, clinging to Brook’s pant leg, “Can I go with you?”</p><p>Brook patted Chopper on the head and assured him that yes, Chopper could go with Brook.</p><p>“Big game,” Usopp muttered to Percy, “Brook’s just as much of a scaredy cat as Chopper.”</p><p>“You are such a hypocrite,” Percy said good-naturedly.</p><p>“Indeed I am!” Usopp said proudly, “Which is why I’ll be tagging along with dumb and dumber here-,” (“Oi,” Luffy and Zoro protested in unison) “So they don’t get lost.”</p><p>“Just so they don’t get lost,” Robin said teasingly, “Looks like that leaves you and me, Franky.”</p><p>Franky grinned and held out his arm for Robin, “M’Lady.”</p><p>The Strawhats were laughing and talking about where everyone would hide-</p><p>When Bartholomew Kuma dropped from the sky.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which the Strawhats have a really bad day</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>Percy knew he was missing a lot of information, but from his friends’ reactions, this robot man was not the same robot man that they faced on the zombie ship where Zoro almost died. While most of the crew dove for cover, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Percy took on the robot man.</p><p>
  <em>Gum Gum-</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Diable-</em>
</p><p>
  <em>60 Pound-</em>
</p><p>The grass around them withered and died as Percy pulled the water from the earth, formed it into giant spikes, and chucked them at the robot man just as the other three landed their attacks.</p><p>“You think that worked?” Percy asked skeptically.</p><p>“Not a chance,” said Sanji.</p><p>“He’s definitely different,” said Zoro, “He would’ve teleported away from our attacks before.”</p><p>Luffy didn’t get a chance to contribute before the robot man fired another beam at them. Luffy, Sanji and Percy dodged.</p><p>“What are you doing!” Sanji barked at Zoro, “Snap out of it!”</p><p>Zoro threw himself out of the way at the last minute, only to collapse, breathing hard.</p><p>“Zoro!” Luffy shouted, “How are you so hurt already? We just started!”</p><p>A cold unlike anything he’d ever experienced settled in Percy’s heart.</p><p>“I-,” Percy stammered, “I just started learning how to heal people two months ago. I didn’t finish-,”</p><p>He didn’t finish healing Zoro’s life-threatening internal injuries.</p><p>And now, Zoro was about to die, thanks to him.</p><p>“Leave him!” Sanji ordered Luffy and Percy, “We have more important things to worry about if we’re gonna get out of here alive!”</p><p>It took Robin bonking the robot man on the head, mid-laser beam, and a thunder tempo from Nami to fry his programming. Once the robot began firing at random, Luffy, Zoro and Sanji landed the finishing blows.</p><p>Everyone collapsed, too exhausted to move after such an intense fight.</p><p>“That do it?” Franky asked the group after a beat, “Is he done?”</p><p>“He doesn’t look done,” said Nami, “Maybe we should’ve run.”<br/>“No, we need to take them on one at a time,” said Robin.</p><p>“That wasn’t Kuma,” said Zoro, “So who was he?”</p><p>Their questions were answered when an axe-wielding marine and an exact replica of the robot they’d just fought, jumped down from a mangrove tree.</p><p>“And who the Hades are you supposed to be?” demanded Percy.</p><p>“None of your business,” barked the marine, “All you need to know is I have special orders to take you in alive, Percy Jackson.”</p><p>Percy looked around frantically. In front of them was a marine twice his size, with an axe that was bigger than Brook. Behind him?</p><p>“ZORO!” Luffy howled.</p><p>Behind him, Zoro lay bloodied and barely breathing on the ground. Above him was a man in an orange and yellow-striped suit, holding a glowing foot over Zoro’s head.</p><p>“Uncle Kizaru!” greeted the marine.</p><p>Robin grabbed Percy’s arm, “That’s the Admiral,” she said urgently.</p><p>
  <em>Telkhines surrounding him on all sides.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Lava bubbling under his feet.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sending Annabeth away.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Darkness darkness darkness</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Pain.</em>
</p><p>Percy saw Rayleigh on a hill in the distance. The old man gave him a grim nod, as if he knew exactly what Percy was thinking.</p><p>Percy gripped Riptide tighter.</p><p>
  <em>I will see Annabeth again.</em>
</p><p>Percy knew what to do.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Percy attempts to save the day</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>
  <em>“The Earthshaker?” Franky asked her teasingly, “What’s that supposed to mean?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Robin had laughed and gently swatted her friend on his blue head, “If you’re going to ridicule me, I won’t read to you anymore.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“No! Anything but that!”</em>
</p><p>Oh, how Robin yearned for simpler times.</p><p>She’d give anything to be curled up in a secluded corner of the Sunny, reading to Franky and cherishing the big, booming laughs he’d give her when she presented him with a fascinating bit of knowledge.</p><p>Looking at her injured, exhausted friends, Robin knew that her simpler times would have to wait.</p><p>“ZORO!” Luffy sobbed.</p><p>Just as he had a week ago, Percy put a rough, calloused hand on Robin’s shoulder.</p><p>“Everyone, take Zoro and get out of here!” he shouted, “I’ll hold them off!”</p><p>Everyone, including the marines, looked at Percy. The young demigod was white as a sheet.</p><p>“Percy…”said Nami.</p><p>“LUFFY IF YOU WANT TO LIVE THAN GO!” Percy roared, “I’LL MEET YOU AGAIN IN 3 DAYS!”</p><p>Luffy gulped, “Understood!”</p><p>“Percy!” Franky cried. Robin pulled him with her.</p><p>“We need to go,” she said, “Remember the passage I read to you in the book the other night?”</p><p>“No…?”</p><p>The Strawhats glanced behind them as they ran.</p><p>“Oho,” said Admiral Kizaru, “You’re the famous Percy Jackson, are you? I have orders to take you to Marie Jois alive, you know. I wonder what makes you so special…”</p><p>Usopp scooped up Zoro while the admiral was distracted.</p><p>“Ugh,” Zoro grunted, “Percy…”</p><p>Percy was white and trembling, but he held his sword aloft with shaking hands.</p><p>“Thank you for letting me sail with you!” he shouted, “I promise we’ll meet again in the New World!”</p><p>And with an unholy scream, Percy drove his sword into the ground.</p><p>“Oh…?” said Kizaru.</p><p>The ground began to roll under their feet</p><p>“Everyone run for your lives!” Nami screamed.</p><p>
  <em>‘Poseidon the Earthshaker’ the book had called him.</em>
</p><p>The Strawhats had just made it across the bridge to the next Grove when Grove 1 and all the other Groves around it, exploded.</p><p>“PERCY!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which everyone gets stronger</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>
  <em>“And you just found him by the smoke stacks?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Yes, your highnesses. He seems to have fallen from Sabaody, though he is uninjured.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Send our brother to Shirahoshi; she can look after him until he wakes.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Are you sure, brother? We all felt those tremors; it is clear who caused them.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Perseus is our brother; we have to help him. The rest of the island mustn’t know about him.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Agreed; they’d tear him apart.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Which is why he will stay here until he has recovered.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“In the mean time, we’ll figure out what to tell him about Marineford.”</em>
</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E</p><p>
  <em>“So you’re Zoro, huh?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Are you hard of hearing? I already introduced myself earlier.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Fire Fist Ace slung an arm around Zoro’s shoulder, “You know, in all the yammering I’ve heard in the past day about Luffy’s crew, you’re the one he yammers the most about.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Zoro’s face felt hot and Ace laughed.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Just make him happy, ok?”</em>
</p><p>The gloom sort of woke Zoro first.</p><p>It wasn’t enough to really wake him up, but the damp air was making his skin itch.</p><p>It was Mihawk looming over him that really woke him up.</p><p>“You beat the baboons,” said the World’s Greatest Swordsman.</p><p>Zoro felt like an iron rod was twisting his organs out of place, but still he staggered to his feet to face his rival, “I beat the baboons.”</p><p>“You don’t still want to leave?”</p><p>
  <em>Ace’s bloodied corpse, forever memorialized in black and white.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Luffy, praying at Marineford.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><strike>3D</strike>2Y</em>
</p><p>“No.”</p><p>“Very well,” said Mihawk, “Then I will train you.”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>“5,000!”</p><p>“Eto, Usopp-un,” said Heracles, “It is admirable that you want to lose all this weight, but you’re going to get a cramp-,”</p><p>Usopp howled in pain and dropped from his tree branch.</p><p>“I can’t stop,” he tried to make the armored beetle understand, “I can’t let Luffy down again! Not ever! I’ve only got 2 years to make good on that promise!”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Robin stumbled over an icy train track.</p><p>“Here.”</p><p>“Thanks,” Robin gratefuly accepted the coat, “What did you say your name was?”</p><p>A blond haired man, maybe a few years older than Luffy, gave her a toothy grin, “Sabo. Nice to meet you, Nico Robin. Welcome to the Revolutionaries.”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>“Again!”</p><p>
  <em>Last night, Luffy dreamed about Ace.</em>
</p><p>“Again!”</p><p>
  <em>Ace, smiling bravely with Akainu’s burning fist sticking out of his bloody chest cavity.</em>
</p><p>“Again!”</p><p>
  <em>Ace, crying as he died.</em>
</p><p>“Look, Luffy, you’re still healing,” Rayleigh said hesitantly, “It’s ok to take a break-,”</p><p>
  <em>Ace, thanking Luffy for loving him.</em>
</p><p>“Again!”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>His body burned in the fall.</p><p>Vegapunk’s laboratory was too cold for Franky to notice the burns.</p><p>‘Clank!’ ‘Clang!’</p><p>His technology was useless.</p><p>‘Bang!’ ‘Bong!’</p><p>It didn’t save Luffy.</p><p>‘Clank!’ ‘Clang!’</p><p>It didn’t save Zoro.</p><p>‘Bang!’ ‘Bong!’</p><p>It sure as hell didn’t save Percy.</p><p>‘Clank!’ ‘Clang!’</p><p>And it didn’t save a brother that Franky never got the honor of meeting.</p><p>‘Bang!’ ‘Bong!’</p><p>Fine.</p><p>‘Clank!’ ‘Clang!’</p><p>If his body wasn’t good enough to save his friends, then he’d just make a new one.</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>
  <em>Gather up all of the crew it’s time to ship out Binks’ Brew</em>
</p><p>Brook, for the first time in his life, was singing flat.</p><p>“Not really up to your usual standards.”</p><p>Brook turned around. The Longarm Tribe was gone behind a funnel of fog.</p><p>Kami, Brook hated fog.</p><p>“It’s not fog, Brook,” a woman in a black robe emerged from the fog in front of him.</p><p>No-she was behind him.</p><p>No, that was wrong too; she was to the east.</p><p>No, she was everywhere. Four identical women stood around him, each holding twin bronze torchs.</p><p>“Who are you?” Brook asked warily.</p><p>The woman looked beautiful in the firelight, with dark, clever eyes and a long, regal face.</p><p>“You’re a user of one of my Devil Fruits, aren’t you?” asked the woman.</p><p>Brook’s eye holes went wide, “You mean-you created the Devil Fruits? The world’s biggest mystery? I can’t believe my ears.”</p><p>“If I had any, Yohohohoho,” Brook laughed half-heartedly.</p><p>The woman bared her teeth in something akin to a smile, “Pleased to meet you, Brook, user of the Revi-Revi fruit. I am Hecate, Goddess of Magic. You and your crew intrigue me, so I am going to show you how to use your Devil Fruit to harness the power of the Mist.”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Chopper was a monster.</p><p>He’d really messed up this time, and because he lost control, he got booted all the way to the South Blue.</p><p>Now, Ace was dead.</p><p>Percy, for all he knew, was also dead or rotting away in Impel Down, and the rest of his crew was scattered around the world.</p><p>And Luffy..that scar on his chest looked terrible, even in newspaper form.</p><p>And Chopper wasn’t there to heal it.</p><p>But here, in this library with Shanba, Chopper began to feel a sliver of hope. The well of information at his disposal was incredible. With this he really had a chance to become the kind of doctor who never lets his crew get injured and die again.</p><p>As for Chopper himself? Maybe, just maybe, he could learn how to really control his powers.</p><p>After all, if being a monster meant that he could protect his friends, then Chopper could learn to live with being a monster.</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>“Come on, I beat Caroline,” Sanji growled, “Now give me the damn recipe!”<br/>“Sanji-chan, deary,” Ivan said, sounding more serious than she had the entire time that Sanji had been stuck in this fluffy, pink hell, “Maybe you should sit down.”</p><p>“If this is about Luffy, I don’t want to hear it,” said Sanji, “There’s no use wasting time thinking about Ace, anymore; I’ll be there for Luffy when I see him again in 2 years.”</p><p>Ivan bit her lip, smudging her favorite, red lipstick, “It’s not that. I’ve received word from Dragon.”<br/>“Oh?” said Sanji, sounding hopeful, “Is it about Robin? Has she liberated a country, or something?”</p><p>“No,” said Ivan, “Your father knows you’re alive. He’s looking for you.”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Nami stumbled and dropped her armful of books.</p><p>“Ow,” she grumbled, fishing <em>Weather 101 </em>out of a cloud, “That Haredas is a real hardass of a teacher.”</p><p>She giggled at her pun, “He better know what he’s doing; I’ve got to be the best navigator I can be when we reunite in 2 years.”</p><p>“Are you Nami?”</p><p>Nami finished picking up her books and turned around to find a girl no older than her, in pale blue robes, looking at her with big, green eyes.</p><p>“Who wants to know?” Nami asked suspiciously, “I thought everyone here was an old wizard man.”<br/>The girl rolled her eyes, “I’m clearly not from here, silly.”</p><p>“Then where are you from?” asked Nami, “And who are you? And how do you know my name?”</p><p>The girl took a big, shaky breath, “Right, well, you see-,”</p><p>“Spit it out already!” Nami snapped. Those books were very heavy; Nami was eager to go put them away.</p><p>The girl steeled her face, “My name is Silena Beauregard, daughter of Aphrodite. I recently came back from the dead, and our mom sent me here to find you.”</p><p>Nami dropped her books again.</p><p>“Percy wasn’t joking,” she said faintly, sinking to the sidewalk, “I really do have siblings.”</p><p>Silena’s eyes widened, “You know Percy Jackson?”</p><p>“Yeah, he’s part of my crew,” she told her new sister, “He showed up out of nowhere on our ship a few weeks ago, he’d been sailing with us ever since.”</p><p>Silena pulled her dark, wavy hair back into a ponytail and began picking up Nami’s books.</p><p>“I understand now,” she told Nami, “Why I’m here.”</p><p>“Ok, I’ll bite,” said Nami, “Why are you here?”</p><p>“Gaea is waking,” said Silena, “The Doors of Death are open. Mom guided me here to prepare you for war.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Hera is a b*tch</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Eight Months Later</p><p>Shakky kicked her fifth customer of the day out the door, pocketing all his change with a sigh.</p><p>Life on Sabaody had been hard ever since Percy Jackson blew up a third of the archipelago. The reconstruction effort had quadrupled everyone’s taxes.</p><p>Not that Shakky paid taxes to begin with, but it was the principle that counted.</p><p>Shaking out a fresh cigarette, Shakky strolled down to the water, where Kuma sat, waiting for the next assailant to try taking the Strawhats ship.</p><p>“Busy, today?” Shakky asked him. As always, the giant Warlord remained silent. Shakky worried about him sometimes; it appeared that Vegapunk’s programming was chipping away more and more at Kuma’s humanity.</p><p>“Shakky.”</p><p>Shakky looked to where the voice had come from in the water, and promptly dropped her cigarette.</p><p>It was definitely Percy Jackson, but the boy she’d met briefly and helped nurse back to health all those months ago looked next to nothing like the boy in front of her. The first thing that caught her attention were Percy’s eyes. They looked wild and almost feral, as if he’d been fighting every day since the earthquake. His slender build had filled out considerably, his arms now much bulkier. Gone was his deep, beautiful tan; living in the ocean for almost a year had turned him as pale as a cloud.</p><p>He flashed her a hesitant smile, and Shakky saw a mouth full of sharp, pointed teeth.</p><p>“I wanted to come back and see if you were alright,” he said hesitantly, making to climb out of the water and on to the shore, “And I-I wanted to apologize.”</p><p>Shakky helped him out of the water, noting that even though Percy probably hadn’t been to the surface since that fateful day, he was still bone dry, “Apologize for what, honey? Do I look any worse for the wear?”</p><p>“But I-,” Percy tried to protest.</p><p>Shakky held up a finger to silence him, “It’s all in the past,” she said kindly, “I’m just glad you’re ok.”</p><p>Percy gave a sigh of relief, “What happened after I, well, you know…”</p><p>So Shakky told him about Kuma, gesturing at the man himself, helpfully, while explaining how Kuma had helped the other Strawhats escape.</p><p>“Thank you,” Percy told the warlord, and he meant it, “I’d hug you, but I know what you did to Zoro.”</p><p>Kuma didn’t reply.</p><p>“So Percy, where have you been?” Shakky asked him.</p><p>So Percy told her how the earthquake had blasted him to the bottom of the sea, and how his father’s guards had found him and brought him to Fishman Island.</p><p>“It takes a lot for him to maintain the form that everyone here’s comfortable with,” Percy told her, “While he’s in front of me, I mean, so I don’t spend a lot of time at the Palace. I’ve been hanging out a lot with Kaimi, Pappagu and Hachi, but most fishmen and merfolk don’t like me very much.”</p><p>Shakky’s heart ached for the boy in front of her. Not quite fishman, but not quite human anymore, either, Percy was doomed to be shunned from both the surface world and Fishman Island.</p><p>“So what do you do to avoid it all?”</p><p>“I’ve been sparing with sea kings,” he told her, “Hachi’s been helping me train too. Sometimes my brothers help me sneak into the hospital so I can practice healing too.”</p><p>“The mer-princes,” Shakky guessed.</p><p>Percy nodded, “They’ve been good to me. Their mother was all about improving relations between the surface world and Fishman Island, so they don’t mind me so much.”</p><p>Shakky wanted to ask him about the mer-princess, but before she could, a brilliantly blinding light enveloped the three of them. When it faded and her vision cleared, Percy was nowhere to be found.</p><p>Where he’d been sitting a moment before, lay a single, peacock feather.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Here we go again</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>The snake-haired ladies were starting to annoy Percy.</p><p>They should have died three days ago when he dropped a crate of bowling balls on them at the Napa Bargain Mart. They should have died two days ago when he ran over them with a police car in Martinez. They definitely should have died this morning when he cut off their heads in Tilden Park. Percy stopped trying to kill them all together after they refused to die when he ripped them apart with his teeth in broad daylight on the quad at UC Berkley.</p><p>But they just kept reforming, like giant, evil dust bunnies.</p><p>The most annoying part, at least, at the moment, with them screaming at him, was that he couldn’t understand a word they were saying.</p><p>“Come back, shark boy!”</p><p>“Yes, let us kill you properly!”</p><p>“I can’t understand you!” he shouted desperately, scrambling up the hill.</p><p>“Gibberish won’t save you this time, boy.”</p><p>Percy couldn’t do this anymore; amnesia and immortal monsters were too much to handle.</p><p>He yelled and another blast of water materialized out of nowhere and knocked the evil snake ladies backwards.</p><p>Right, then there were the powers he couldn’t control. He’d discovered that last one when the snake ladies had chased him through a library. He couldn’t decide who scared him more, the snake ladies or the furious librarian probably yelling at him about all the ruined books.</p><p>Because again, Percy couldn’t understand a word that anyone was saying.</p><p>At the very least, it appeared that the snake ladies couldn’t kill him either. To go along with his freakishly strong teeth, his skin was way stronger than any human’s should be, as if it were iron and not human flesh.</p><p>He knew he needed somewhere to hide. At this rate, he’d collapse from exhaustion and no matter how un-killable he seemed, he was sure the snake ladies would find a way to kill him.</p><p>But where to hide?</p><p>To the west, the San Francisco Bay glittered in a slivery haze. The view gave Percy a certain sense of sadness that he only got when he thought of the one name he remembered from his past:</p><p>
  <em>Annabeth</em>
</p><p>The wolf, Lupa, had promised him that if he completed his journey, he’d meet her again soon. So he knew, that even if the sea was drawing him in like a magnet, he couldn’t go to it.</p><p>“Where are you, demigod scum?”</p><p>The snake ladies had just appeared over the clifftop when Percy dissolved into water and trickled down the hill.</p><p>“Holy Hera!” he shouted when he reformed at the bottom.</p><p>“Actually, it’s Juno here.”<br/>Percy looked to his left. There, on the side of the highway was an old hippie lady.</p><p>“You can understand me?” Percy asked the hippie lady.</p><p>“My Japanese is a little rusty,” the hippie admitted, “But yes, I can understand you.”</p><p>The earth rumbled underneath them. A couple of cars smashed into each other, and a hoard of people emerged from the cars, shouting angrily about earthquakes.</p><p>“I’d cut that out, if I were you,” the hippie warned him, “The mortals quite like this highway.”</p><p>“I can’t!” he said hopelessly.</p><p>“Hmm,” said the old woman, “Well then, I suppose you could take the tunnel. Go to Camp.”</p><p>She pointed at the entrance to the maintenance tunnel. A young, dark-skinned girl and a big, burly asian boy, both armed to the teeth, flanked the entrance, “I’m sure they can help you remember how to control your powers.”</p><p>Percy looked doubtful. The word camp sounded so familiar; he was sure he came from one. But… “What’s the catch?”</p><p>The old woman lifted the trash bag she was wearing to show her feet, covered in blisters and oozing sores, “Carry me there; I can’t walk myself.”</p><p>“Any other options?” he asked queasily.</p><p>“You could go to the ocean,” the old hippie said simply, “Your father’s realm would shield you from the monsters. You’ll be able to watch Gaea’s rising from the relative safety of the ocean. The gorgons would be content with attacking me and letting you go.”</p><p>“Will I get my memory back if I go to this camp?”</p><p>“Eventually,” the old woman mused, “But in the process, you’ll learn pain like you’ve never known before. You’ll lose the Mark of Achilles, but you’ll get your best chance at finding your friends and family.”</p><p>Percy glanced at the tunnel, then back at the snake ladies running at them, “Fine, get on.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Chapter 24</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Percy freaks everyone out</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>When Frank signed up for sentry duty that morning, he’d been looking forward to a quiet day with Hazel. Maybe they’d get to practice their terrible french again, drink some hot coco, watch the mortals drive by without noticing them.</p><p>What he didn’t sign up for, was an earthquake and a demigod carrying a goddess, all while yelling at him in Japanese.</p><p>“Frank, do something!” demanded Hazel.</p><p>“I’m trying,” he told her, firing arrow after arrow at the gorgons, “The earthquake keeps moving them!”</p><p>The demigod lurched through the maintenance door, the goddess on his back cackling the entire time.</p><p>“Are you causing this earthquake?” Hazel urgently asked the demigod, “You’ve gotta cut it out!”<br/>In response, the demigod bared a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth at them, causing Hazel to raise her spatha, “Are you a monster?”</p><p>“I promise you, daughter of Pluto, he’s a demigod,” said the old woman, “His name is Percy Jackson.”</p><p>The demigod shouted at them in a torrent of angry, Japanese.</p><p>“Ok, you are way too white to be Japanese,” Frank grumbled.</p><p>“Frank!” Hazel scolded, “Now is not the time! Take Percy and go, I’ll hold them off!”</p><p>“Frank,” Percy muttered, “…Franky?”</p><p>“Just Frank,” Frank told him as they ran, “Uh…did you understand that?”</p><p>Percy looked at him helplessly.</p><p>The tunnel shook ominously.</p><p>“Is he doing that?” Frank asked the old lady, “Or is it Hazel?”</p><p>“Just keep running, Frank Zhang,” the old lady said calmly.</p><p>They spilled out of the tunnel to New Rome. Frank watched the old lady have a heated conversation with Percy in Japanese, before Percy finally relented and crossed the River Tiber.</p><p>“Whoah,” Frank said nervously, “He’s steaming.”</p><p>Sure enough, Percy’s whole body was steaming. He staggered out of the Tiber on the other side, the old lady tumbling to the ground next to him.</p><p>“Frank!”</p><p>Hazel sprinted at him, covered in mud, the gorgons hot on her heels.</p><p>“Hazel, go help Percy!” Frank shouted at her, “Make sure the sentries don’t shoot him!”</p><p>Frank talked a big game, but the gorgons caught him immediately as he tried crossing the Tiber.</p><p>“Frank!” Hazel shrieked.</p><p>But, just as he was able to see the tops of the siege towers, the gorgons squaked in pain and dropped him into the Tiber.</p><p>Percy snarled from atop a column of water, brandishing a horrifyingly large, pale green sword that looked like it could vivisect a giant.</p><p>“Other sword, dear,” the old woman called to him.</p><p>Percy turned his wild, feral eyes on her and she gestured at his pocket. Percy’s giant meat cleaver dissolved into water as he pulled out a smaller, bronze, leaf-shaped sword, grinned, and pounced on the gorgon ladies.</p><p>Frank pulled himself onto the shore and watched in horror as Percy hacked at the gorgons with the same ferocity as a great white shark devouring its prey. Once he seemed satisfied, he held out his hand, and summoned a water spout to spread the gorgons’ dust to the four corners of the wind.</p><p>“Well, then,” the old lady got up and dusted herself off in the middle of a shocked silence, “Thank you for a lovely trip, Percy Jackson.”</p><p>Reyna choked, “Percy…Jackson?”</p><p>The old lady laughed, “Oh, yes! You’ll have such fun together!”</p><p>Then, the old lady glowed and changed form into a seven-foot-tall goddess in a shimmering blue dress.</p><p>“Lady Juno,” said Reyna, kneeling. Frank and the others followed her lead.</p><p>Percy spat a clump of gorgon dust out of his mouth and said something in Japanese.</p><p>“Uh, Lady Juno?” Hazel asked hesitantly, “None of us speak Japanese.”</p><p>“Oh, right,” said Juno, and she touched Percy’s head.</p><p>“What the Hades?” Percy demanded, in English, “Who are you? Where am I?”</p><p>The earth shook again.</p><p>“Romans,” Juno addressed Camp Jupiter, “I bring to you, Percy Jackson, Son of Neptune. Do help him learn to control his powers, will you? The earthquakes are quite a nuisance.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Chapter 25</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which we skip ahead a few books</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>One Month Later</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>She never thought she’d say it, but Nami missed Weatheria.</p><p>Sure, riding on a cloud to New York was cool, but the weather there was terrible, compared to Weatheria’s weather.</p><p>She’d gotten another blessing from Aphrodite to allow her to leave the Four Seas through the East Blue. She didn’t have time to think about how awesome that was; she was flying straight to a war, after all.</p><p>
  <em>“When you get to Camp Half-Blood,” Selina had told her, “If they don’t know who you are, show Chiron your spear; he’ll know you’re there to help.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“And he’s the centaur,” said Nami, “Just for clarification.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Selina took her sister’s hands in hers, “You’ll do fine. You’re a good fighter, Nami, and your charmspeak surpassed mine months ago.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Nami gave Selina’s hands a squeeze, “Are you sure you can’t come with me? It sounds like they could use your help.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Selina shook her head, “I’m not supposed to be alive; Thanatos could summon me back to the Underworld as soon as I leave the Grand Line. Besides, Haredas and the others are really nice to me, and Charlie's gone for rebirth anyway. I don't have a reason to go back. I’ll be here when you get back.”</em>
</p><p>Nami could see the legions of monsters as she approached the camp, and she sent a prayer to Aphrodite that none of them would see her approach. She landed in a field of Greek demigods dressed in camo.</p><p>“Who are you?” demanded the only one in armor, jabbing a spear in her face.</p><p>“My name is Nami,” Nami said carefully, suddenly very grateful that Silena had thought to teach her english, “I am a daughter of Aphrodite from Japan; my mother sent me here to help.”</p><p>The girl with the electric spear looked like she wanted to complain, but a blonde boy waved her off.</p><p>“Cool it, Clarisse,” he said.</p><p>“You’re not the boss of me, Will!”</p><p>“Let’s play nice, everyone,” said Nami, loading her words with a bit of charmspeak.</p><p>A dark-haired girl shuddered, “I know charmspeak when I hear it.”</p><p>She held out a hand, “It’s nice to meet you, Nami. I’m Lou Ellen. I’m a daughter of Hecate.”</p><p>Clarisse turned back to a map that she and Will had been studying, “Fine; we need the help anyway. Katie, can you take Nami to Chiron?”<br/>A long, lanky girl with dirty blonde hair got up, “Sure thing, Clarisse. Come on, Nami.”</p><p>It didn’t take them long to get to the centaur, but by the time they did, Katie had filled Nami in on the following:</p><ul>
<li>She was Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter</li>
<li>The Roman demigods were camping outside Camp Half-Blood with a crap ton of monsters</li>
<li>A son of Hades, a Roman daughter of Bellona and a satyr were on their way with a giant statue of Athena that was supposed to fix the gods’ split personality disorder and heal the rift between the two camps.</li>
<li>Percy Jackson was still alive</li>
</ul><p>Nami grabbed Katie’s arm in a vice-like grip, “Percy’s alive?”</p><p>Katie’s eyes widened, “Holy Hephaestus, you know Percy?”<br/>Nami swallowed a knot in her throat. She missed her friend so much it hurt. The idea that she might get to see him? “He’s my nakama.”</p><p>“Nakawhata?” said Katie, puzzled, “Anyway, here’s Chiron.”</p><p>The centaur gave her a grim smile, “Welcome, my dear. Your mother told me you’d be coming.”</p><p>“I-I have so many questions,” Nami stammered, “But-,”</p><p>“Now isn’t the time,” Chiron agreed, “And you’re right. I think someone’s here to assign you a task.”</p><p>Will took Nami’s hand, “It’s good to have you, Nami. We could use your help on a scouting mission of the enemy camp. How good are you at stealth?”</p><p>Nami clutched her Climatact, “I’m excellent. Let’s go.”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Nami will admit that the kid falling out of the shadows mere inches from her face almost made her scream.</p><p>Almost.</p><p>Lou Ellen slapped her hand over Nami’s mouth at the last second.</p><p>“Excellent at stealth, were you?” she hissed.</p><p>“Nico?” Will whispered.</p><p>The boy, Nico, whipped around and almost decapitated Will.</p><p>“Will?” Nico hissed, “What are you <em>doing </em>here? Getting yourselves killed?”</p><p>Nami withered away, but Will looked unfazed.</p><p>“Put that away,” Will hissed back, “We’re on a scouting mission! We took precautions.”</p><p>Nico gave the four of them a scrutinizing look, “You dressed in black,” he noted, “With the sun coming up, and failed to cover your blonde mop. Meanwhile this one,” he gestured at Nami, “Didn’t get the black memo. She didn’t even get the shirt memo.”</p><p>Will’s ears reddened, “Lou Ellen wrapped some Mist around us.”</p><p>“I don’t need the Mist,” Nami saw fit to tell the scary teenager because seriously? What was wrong with her swimsuit?</p><p>“Oh?” Nico rose an eyebrow, “Who are you, anyway? You don’t sound like you’re from around here.”</p><p>“Nami,” Nami introduced herself, “Daughter of Aphrodite. I’m new here.”</p><p>“Nico,” said Nico, “Son of Hades. The Romans have these deadly catapaults called onagers. One shot’ll be enough to disintegrate the camp. If you’re so stealthy, can you and Cecil take care of it?”</p><p>Nami shared a look with the son of Hermes, “I think we’ve got it covered.”</p><p>
  <em>Mirage Tempo!</em>
</p><p>Spinning her Climatact, Nami and Cecil dissolved into the sunlight.</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Sabotaging the Imperial Gold catapaults was easy; Cecil was a natural-born saboteur, and when invisible, sneaking around Roman demigods and cyclopes twice their size was a piece of cake.</p><p>It was when the shrieky, blonde one in the purple cloak caught Nico and Will arguing, that things really went south.</p><p>Nami and Cecil rematerialized on either side of Nico.<br/>“More Greeks!” shrieked the blonde Roman, “Clearly a trick! Where did they come from? Did YOU see them arrive?”</p><p>Cecil gave the others a subtle thumbs up, and Will breathed a sigh of relief.</p><p>“You’ve lost, Octavian,” Nico said calmly.</p><p>Octavian snarled, “Son of Pluto, whatever the <em>Graecus </em>scum have offered you, I can top it. I always respected your power; join the right side, and you will have a high rank in my new order.”<br/>Nico rolled his eyes, “First? You’re delusional. Second? Not that it matters, because I’m leaving both camps after this, but I’m a son of Hades, not Pluto. Yeah-,” said Nico, clearly relishing in the look of horror on Octavian’s face, “I’ve been one of those <em>Graecus</em> scum this whole time.”</p><p>While Nico and Will broke out into intense bickering again, Nami rolled her eyes at Cecil and Lou Ellen and they rolled their eyes back appreciatively. Ah well, Nami supposed she’d better do something.</p><p>Nami smiled sweetly, “Octavian-kun, I hope you brought an umbrella.”</p><p>“What-,” Octavian barked in outrage, “How <em>dare </em>a <em>Graecus </em>speak to me? And with Japanese honorifics, no less! Who are you, girl?”</p><p>“The one that just fried your brain,” she giggled.</p><p>
  <em>Thunder Tempo!</em>
</p><p>And Octavian and his Roman bodyguards collapsed as lighting coarsed through their veins.</p><p>“Wow,” Will whistled, clearly over his argument, “Are you sure you’re not a daughter of Zeus? Or maybe of Ares? Clarisse’s got a spear just like yours.”</p><p>Nami grinned, twirling her Climatact “It’s just science.”</p><p>“F-Fire!”</p><p>Nami cursed. She should’ve made sure that Octavian was down, but the slimy asshole just didn’t seem to know when to quit.</p><p>Now, she’d just have to hope that she and Cecil had done their jobs properly.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Chapter 26</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Nami and Percy reunite, then separate again</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Nami wasn’t disappointed.</p><p>In a way, the onagers blowing up were kind of beautiful. As soon as one off-course, deadly projectile crashed into another, all six of them exploded in the most incredible, golden, firey explosion that Nami had ever seen. The heat roared in her face, and if it weren’t for Lou Ellen pulling her to the ground, it probably would’ve burned off her face too.</p><p>“NO NO NO,” hollered Octavian, staggering to his feet. Nami thought he looked much better with a chunk of his scalp burned off, “RELOAD!”</p><p>Another army of Romans charged down the hill towards them but, as Nico informed them, they, the Fifth Cohort, were on the Greeks’ side.</p><p>But it was too late for them to secure Octavian and broker peace with the Romans; the Greeks had gathered rank. Clarisse lead the charge on a red war chariot pulled by six, metal horses.</p><p>It would’ve been beautiful if it weren’t so scary at that moment.</p><p>“Romans!” her voice boomed over the valley, “You have fired on our camp. Prepare to die!”</p><p>The Greeks cheered in agreement. The Romans bristled and assumed a defensive formation.</p><p>Nami felt like crying. After all that training with Selina, they were already losing? What had it all been for?</p><p>A piercing whistle broke her eardrums and her thoughts.</p><p>“DON’T BE STUPID!” Will roared, pointing in the sky, “LOOK!”</p><p>The twenty foot statue hurtling towards them, flanked by a pegasus guard made Nami think of two things:</p><p>1) That’s the giant Athena statue that Selina was talking about</p><p>2) That thing’s about to crush us</p><p>“Move!” she shouted, tackling Cecil and Lou Ellen. Will grabbed Nico and flung them out of the way.</p><p>A team of pegasi dropped the statue right where the scouting party had been moments before, making most of the valley cheer.</p><p>A girl on a pegasus swooped over head.</p><p>“Greek Demigods!” her voice boomed over the valley, “Behold your most sacred statue, the Athena Parthenos, wrongly taken by the Romans. I return it to you now as a gesture of peace!”</p><p>Warmth settled in Nami’s bones. She felt the spirits of her crew surround her, along with the spirits of the 20 armored children standing 10 feet behind her under a hot pink banner.</p><p>The Athena Parthenos was reminding her that she wasn’t alone.</p><p>
  <em>IT’S TOO LATE.</em>
</p><p>The earth hummed underneath them.</p><p>
  <em>THE EARTH MOTHER WAKES.</em>
</p><p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>After all the shit that Percy had been through in the past year, seeing a very familiar thunder cloud stretch across the valley while he zoomed towards it in Frank’s claw, was still pretty weird.</p><p>And probably not possible, unless Nami had found Raftel in his absence.</p><p>But there she was anyway, electrocuting and stabbing her way through monster after monster.</p><p>Clarisse would be so proud.</p><p>“Percy!” Annabeth hollered over the wind, “Is that who I think it is?”</p><p>For the first time in months, Percy beamed over something that wasn’t Annabeth, “NAMI!”</p><p>Nami’s long, orange hair whipped around as she gaped, open mouthed at him, “Percy! Oh my Gods, it’s really you!”</p><p>Then, her face morphed into a look that Percy was pretty used to after seeing it on Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Leo, etc. etc. Hazel and Frank had even tried to kill him.</p><p>Frank dropped him and Annabeth near Nami before flying away again to avoid Nami’s lightning.</p><p>“You look good!” she forced herself to say, though Percy knew she didn’t mean it.</p><p>Annabeth squeezed his hand, “You know he does. Percy’s told me a lot about you, Nami. It’s good to meet you.”</p><p>Nami gave Annabeth a hug, “Likewise! You must be the girlfriend we heard so much about.”</p><p>Percy shuffled his feet uncomfortably, “Nami, look, I know you have a history with sharks. Everyone keeps saying I look like a shark. If looking at me is hurting you-,”</p><p>“Don’t be stupid,” Nami said firmly. Huh, maybe Percy was being stupid.</p><p>Annabeth winked at Nami, sending her silent approval of charmspeaking her boyfriend.</p><p>“Enough talk,” said Annabeth, “We have some Giants to kill!”</p><p>Percy sighed and hefted Riptide aloft. Seriously, when was he going to get to retire?</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Nami met yet another sister when she saved Piper from being squashed like a pancake under a female giant’s foot.</p><p>“Thanks!” the girl yelled over the noise, “I’m Piper!”</p><p>“Nami” Nami shouted.</p><p>Three telkhines waddled up to them at top speed, and the two girls yelled “DIE!” in perfect unison. Together, their charmspeak made the weird seal creatures explode.</p><p>“Nice to meet another sister,” Piper told her before running off after a boy on a metal dragon, “Come and find me when this is over! I’ll introduce you to the rest of the Aphrodite Cabin!”</p><p>“Greeks!” Nami heard Percy call, “Um, fight stuff!”</p><p>It was so reminiscent of Luffy’s style of leadership, and such a stark contrast to the well-organized battle formations of the Romans, that right there, in the middle of the scariest battle Nami had ever fought, she giggled.</p><p>Nami was having such a good time fighting alongside her brothers and sisters that she was almost disappointed when they ran out of monsters.</p><p>She found Piper clinging to a handsome, blonde, blue-eyed boy, sobbing her eyes out. It turned out that their best friend, a boy named Leo, had sacrificed himself to defeat Gaea and save the world.</p><p>Nami couldn’t really relate; she’d had nightmares of Luffy sobbing over Ace’s corpse for a month after the battle at Marineford, but she knew that wasn’t really the same thing.</p><p>“Sorry,” Piper said shakily, “This is Nami,” she introduced her sister, “Nami, this is my boyfriend, Jason.”</p><p>“Nice to meet you,” said Nami, shaking his hand. She’d learned from Selina that while where she came from, shaking hands was a big nono, everyone in America did it as a greeting.</p><p>“So, Nami,” Piper said with an air of forced happiness, “After the celebrations, how about I show you to Cabin 10?”</p><p>Nami glanced behind her at the beautiful camp, with the gleaming cabins, the lava rock wall, and the strawberry fields. For just a moment, she was tempted.</p><p>“I can’t stay,” she said sadly, “My friends need me back home.”</p><p>Right on cue, a blob of water formed next to them and materialized into Percy.</p><p>“Eeep!” Nami fell on her butt.</p><p>Jason laughed and helped her up, “Don’t worry; I did the same thing the first time I saw him do that.”</p><p>“We all did,” Annabeth grumbled without any real malice.</p><p>“Is Luffy-,” Percy’s voice broke.</p><p>“I haven’t seen him since that day,” Nami admitted, “But you saw the paper?”</p><p>Percy nodded.</p><p>“Percy,” Nami said hesitantly, “Your goal was to get home, wasn’t it? Well, you’re home now. Are you going to come back at all?”</p><p>Percy shared a look with his beautiful, blonde, grey-eyed girlfriend, Annabeth.</p><p>“I owe Luffy my life,” he told his friends, “And I did promise to meet them back on Sabaody a year from now.”</p><p>Annabeth slung an arm around Percy’s shoulder, “Then it’s settled,” she said firmly, “We’re going to spend some time with our families-Percy certainly needs to,” (Percy’s eyes went misty. Jason squeezed his hand comfortingly) “then we’ll meet you on Sabaody. School can wait.”</p><p>Annabeth glared at Nami, almost as if daring her to object.</p><p>Nami grinned, “It’s a deal!”</p><p>Nami hugged Percy goodbye, thanked Chiron, promised to send Piper and Annabeth dendenmushis so they could keep in touch, and waved goodbye to her brothers and sisters in the Aphrodite Cabin before summoning the cloud that would take her back to Weatheria. The last thing she saw before the trees covered Camp Half-Blood completely, was Percy and Annabeth sharing a kiss.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Chapter 27</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which the Strawhats reunite without Percy</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>One Year Later</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>It was a swelteringly hot day on the Sabaody Archipelago. Crickets screamed almost loud enough to drown out the inescapable sound of construction that permeated the whole archipelago. Everywhere you looked, Sabaody was a ghost town.</p><p>This wasn’t for any nefarious reason, though; everyone just preferred to stay inside, sheltering in whatever shade they could find.</p><p>“This heat is killing me,” Rayleigh whined, “Shakky, when was the last time you paid your electricity bill?”</p><p>Shakky sighed and plugged in another fan, “I pay my bills regularly; you know that. I can’t afford air conditioning. I hope the Strawhats won’t mind.”</p><p>Rayleigh took a swig of his rum and coke, “If they show up at all.They’re no small fry anymore; getting here’s going to be hard.”</p><p>Right on cue, the front door swung open and Roronoa Zoro swaggered through it.</p><p>Shakky’s smile widened.</p><p>“Oh?” said Rayleigh, amused, “I didn’t expect you to be the first one here.”</p><p>Zoro slid into a seat next to Rayleigh and graciously accepted the cup of sake that Shakky placed in front of him, “Oh? I’m the first, am I?” he took a gulp of his sake, “Guess the others just got lost, then.”</p><p>“Well, since you’re the first one here,” Rayleigh said slyly, “Maybe you and I can have a talk about your intentions with Luffy.”</p><p>Shakky couldn’t stop laughing as Zoro went bright-red, got up, and left, declaring that he was going fishing.</p><p>“You are so mean,” she scolded Rayleigh.</p><p>Rayleigh raised his glass to her, “That boy needed something to do, anyway until the others arrive.”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Nami was just debating exactly how much better a pianist Brook would be than this awful bar musician when the friendly bartender decided to strike up a conversation with her.</p><p>“Did you hear? They moved Navy Headquarters? They traded with G1. The new Fleet Admiral’s gotta be pretty balsy to set up shop in Yonko territory.”<br/>Nami sipped her fruit juice. Two years of training with Selina had taught her never to drink alcohol alone in public, “Oh? I did notice there were more thugs here than from two years ago.”</p><p>The bartender nodded enthusiastically, “Yeah, the earthquake really messed up Navy HQ, so instead of fixing it, they decided to move to the New World and foot us with the repair bills.”</p><p>
  <em>Did you catch this? Looks like the Strawhats are back after all.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I never heard anything about them dying, but two years is a long time to just disappear.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Any way, I’m gonna go join! Are you coming?</em>
</p><p>Nami wanted to laugh, but she composed herself. Were they really famous enough now for posers to capitalize on their infamy? Luffy would be so excited.</p><p>Speaking of, at that moment, the imposters in question burst through the bar doors, demanding food and drink.</p><p>What were the odds?</p><p>“Hey girlie!” the Luffy imposter called from his table, “How about you come and party with some real men?”</p><p>Nami wrinkled her nose in disgust.</p><p>“You’d better do it,” the bartender hissed urgently, “Those are the Strawhat pirates!”</p><p>“You can take your offer and shove it,” Nami snapped, “Mister, whoever you are.”</p><p>Amidst the shocked silence in the bar, the one pretending to be her waddled up to her and rested her gun under Nami’s chin.</p><p>“You’d best do what Captain Luffy says,” she said in a whiney sort of voice, “You know, I have a bounty too. I’m the Strawhats’ silver-tongued navigator, Nami!”</p><p>Nami rolled her eyes and glared straight at this dumbass. If she wasn’t going to do any research on the person she was impersonating, to the point where she could look the real Nami in the eyes and not recognize her, then she wasn’t worth Nami’s time. Nami was about to convince her of what a good idea it would be if the ‘Strawhats’ left and never came back, when a giant plant snatched ‘Nami’ and the rest of the ‘Strawhats’ up.</p><p>“A giant plant…?” said Nami, “I wonder how that got there?”</p><p>The bartender shrugged and went back to washing his counter, clearly bored with the situation.</p><p>“Hey there, little lady. Can I buy you a drink?”</p><p>“Usopp!”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>“Damn those bastards!” said ‘Luffy’, “Let’s go find them!”</p><p>The ‘Strawhats’ were quite enjoying their unearned reputation; it let them get away with so much more than before they’d assumed those losers’ identities. Maybe the hot chick and the guy with the dumb hat were just a fluke, but just to be sure, ‘Luffy’ would have to teach them what happens when you mess with the ‘Strawhats’.</p><p>That was, until a weirdo in a fake mustache knocked him down. This guy made ‘Luffy’ uneasy, but he brushed it off and shot the weirdo anyway. No one made a fool of ‘Strawhat Luffy’ and got away with it.</p><p>But then the weirdo looked at him with those scary eyes and knocked ‘Luffy’ out. When he and the others came to, the weirdo was gone. The ‘Strawhats’ continued their search for the hot chick and the dumb-hat guy because however impudent the weirdo had been, not even ‘Luffy’ was brave enough to go after him.</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>“You mean that directionless idiot got here first?”</p><p>“Yup!” said Shakky, pouring Sanji a glass of red wine, “Everyone else trickled in after that. Franky got here 10 days ago. He wanted to go see if your ship’s ok so he headed back out pretty quickly.”</p><p>“So the Sunny’s ok?” asked Sanji.</p><p>“Not a scratch on it,” Rayleigh confirmed, “The coating’s done too, but give credit where credit is due.”</p><p>“It’s time for some R&amp;R!” cheered the Rosy Life Riders from their hospital gurneys.</p><p>“Looks like your stubbornness came in handy,” said Sanji, “Thanks, Duval.”<br/>“Don’t mention it, young master!” Duval tried to wink again, to no avail, “My looks defended your ship day after day!”</p><p>“Don’t be dumb, Duval, what’s the real story?” asked Sanji.</p><p>“Well you see-,”</p><p>“The third one to arrive was Nami, four days ago. She went into town to kill time with some shopping,” said Shakky.</p><p>“Hey!” Duval protested, but Sanji was long gone, day dreaming about Nami.</p><p>“Usopp showed up three days ago and also went into town,” Shakky continued, “And Chopper arrived yesterday. And of course, Brook is already here for his concert. The only ones left are Robin and Luffy.”</p><p>Sanji sobered up and took a drag of his cigarette, “And Percy?” he asked the room, “Is he even alive?”</p><p>Rayleigh shut his newspaper and sighed, “Yes, Percy is alive.”</p><p>“In fact,” added Shakky, “He’s already on Fishman Island. We received word a few weeks ago that he’d meet you there.”</p><p>Sanji breathed a sigh of relief, “I see, so that asshole’s ok.”</p><p>Shakky snagged a cigarette from Sanji’s open pack, “He came back about a year ago to apologize for the earthquake. He looked…different.”</p><p>Sanji rose an eyebrow, “So? We’ve all changed after 2 years.”</p><p>“You have to understand that Percy had been on Fishman Island for eight months at this point,” Shakky tried to explain, “He told me he’d been sparing with sea kings every day; that kind of fighting changes a person.”</p><p>Sanji grinned, “Sounds like Percy’s just asking for a spar.”</p><p>“Zoro said the same thing,” said Rayleigh, glad that Percy’s friends were so accepting, “Shakky, tell him the weird part.”</p><p>“Weird?” asked Sanji, “Even for you, old man?”</p><p>“Right,” said Shakky, “Well, I was talking to Percy when this bright light descended over everything. When it cleared and I could see again, Percy was gone.”</p><p>Shakky pulled a lock box out from under the bar and pulled out a peacock feather, “This was all that was left.”</p><p>“But you said you got word from him a few weeks ago,” Sanji pointed out, “That means he’s ok, right?”</p><p>“Yes,” said Rayleigh, “Though he wouldn’t say what happened to him.”</p><p>“If it’s important, I’m sure he’ll tell us,” said Sanji, getting to his feet, “I’m gonna go grocery shopping.”</p><p>Rayleigh looked up from his newspaper, “You’re sure that’s wise?”</p><p>A shadow passed over Sanji’s face, “I did a thorough sweep of the Archipelago; I didn’t see any of my father’s ships.”</p><p>“You know, you’re going to have to tell them eventually,” Rayleigh told him, “As you gain more and more notoriety, the Vinsmokes will be more and more likely to find you.”</p><p>“I know,” Sanji said quietly, “But for now, I wanna cross that bridge when we get there.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0028"><h2>28. Chapter 28</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which the Strawhats set sail</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>After spending two years on the barren wasteland that was Baltiago, Robin was glad for the greenery on Sabaody.</p><p>She was glad for lots of other things too, of course. One of those things was waiting for her on the Sunny.</p><p>The hot, sticky air made her hair cling to her sweaty back, and the mosquitos nipped incessantly at her ankles, but Robin didn’t care.</p><p>“Ow! If it isn’t our SUPER archaeologist!” Franky did a little pose, “Nico Robin!”</p><p>Franky was twice the size he’d been before; he was at least three times bigger than Robin herself. Robin imagined Franky could quite easily snap her like a twig with those enormous hands of his. Never taking her eyes off Franky, she stepped onto the jelly-like coating on the deck of the Sunny.</p><p>“Do-,” Franky sounded hesitant, as if he’d lost some of his air, “Do you like it?”</p><p>Robin’s heart filled with warmth. Franky was so concerned that Robin wouldn’t like him anymore with his changed body, that he’d actually gone out of his way to ask her if she liked how he looked now.</p><p>She reached up and threw her arms around Franky’s neck, “I love it. You haven’t changed a bit.”</p><p>“Whaaa? Of course I have! My body is full of masculine romance!”</p><p>Robin planted a kiss on his cheek to shut him up.</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Sanji couldn’t stop looking over his shoulder.</p><p>He’d been fine on Nekwama Island; no one in their right mind would volunteer to look for him there, let alone his brothers and sister.</p><p>Now, on Sabaody, he knew he needed to be careful. He busied himself with chasing after the ladies (even when a certain daughter of the love goddess already had his heart), but still…Any lurking shadows were about to give him a panic attack.</p><p>So he decided to go where there were no shadows. He meandered down to the docks to pick up some fish, only to find the fishmonger wailing in horror by the water.</p><p>“Oi, oi,” he tried to calm the man down, “What’s wrong?”</p><p>“It’s terrible!” the man wailed, “This young man wanted to go fishing. I told him to wait by my boat, but he got on a pirate ship!”</p><p>Sanji sighed and pulled out Zoro’s wanted poster, “Was it this guy?”</p><p>“Yes!” said the fishmonger.</p><p>Sanji folded up the wanted poster and put it back in his jacket, “Figures. Look, he’ll be ok, so can you sell me some fish?”</p><p>The fishmonger probably wanted to say something else, but a pirate galleon, cleaved in two, rising from the water, cut him off.</p><p>“That directionless idiot,” Sanji grumbled, though secretly, he was glad to not be on his own anymore, “I couldn’t care less about him.”</p><p>Zoro glared down at them with only one eye, “I got on the wrong ship.”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Brook knew from the beginning that Mr. Manager was going to betray him.</p><p>You can’t spend over fourty years wandering the earth as a skeleton without developing some trust issues.</p><p>But, as Lady Hecate said, <em>Trust is for fools. Learn to show them what they want, and the Mist will obey.</em></p><p>Now, with the marines closing in on all sides, Brook knew what to do.</p><p>“My band,” he said solemnly, “My backup singers, will you join me for one last song?”</p><p>He strummed his guitar, “Strawhat Luffy is alive!” he announced to his adoring fans, “And you can tell the world that he’s going to be King of the Pirates!”</p><p>And, while an image of Brook playing his final song remained on stage, Brook slipped away, shrouded in the Mist.</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>While Nami loved hanging out and training with Selina, she was still very glad to see Robin again.</p><p>“You seem happy,” she told her friend, slyly eyeing Franky from across the deck.</p><p>Robin’s smile widened, “Yes, but you must be the real story. Rayleigh says you fought in a war?”</p><p>Nami sighed, “I wish he’d stop telling people about that without me. But yeah, my birth mom sent me to New York to fight in the Giant War.”</p><p>“Wow!” Chopper shrieked, seemingly over his fits of excitement over Franky, “You fought Giants?!?!?”</p><p>“Yeah,” Nami admitted, “I got to meet some of my demigod siblings, fight some Giants and see Percy. That’s pretty much it.”</p><p>Chopper gasped.</p><p>“So Percy’s still alive?” asked Usopp.</p><p>“I’m so glad,” Robin said while Franky sobbed.</p><p>“Yeah,” said Nami, “The earthquake threw him to Fishman Island. He and his girlfriend are going to meet us there.”</p><p>“Percy’s girlfriend is coming?” Chopper squeaked, “That’s so COOL! Is she a demigod too?”</p><p>“Daughter of Athena,” Nami confirmed.</p><p>“I hate to interrupt this reunion.”</p><p>“Hi Rayleigh!” Nami waved, “Hi Shakky!”</p><p>Rayleigh smiled, “Hi, Nami. As I was saying, we’ve got a situation in the artificial sector of the archipelago.”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Luffy knew right away that ‘Sanji’ and ‘Zoro’ were imposters.</p><p>Many may call Luffy dumb, but there was no way Luffy was going to mistake someone else for Zoro or Sanji.</p><p>(Especially Zoro)</p><p>Luffy figured he had time to kill though, so he decided to humor the imposters and follow them to the artificial sector of the archipelago.</p><p>It really was quite impressive, what work Sabaody had done to repair itself in 2 years. Percy had sunk at least a third of the archipelago, leaving only the charred mangrove trees behind; there was no getting the groves back. So Sabaody had constructed 15 new groves out of wood. ‘Sanji’ and ‘Zoro’ lead Luffy to one of these groves, grove 46. Luffy humored himself by pointing out all the problems with ‘Sanji’ and ‘Zoro’s’ disguises the entire way there. He’d only been back on Sabaody for a few hours, but Luffy was having a grand time.</p><p>What he didn’t account for were the robot guys from two years ago.</p><p>Ah well, he’d have to apologize to Hancock for taking off his disguise some other time.</p><p>“Hey! Luffy!”<br/>Luffy felt that warm tingle in his toes that could only mean one thing.</p><p>“Luffy! I knew we’d find you if we followed the explosions!”</p><p>Sanji and Zoro were here.</p><p>“It’s you for real this time!” Luffy beamed, “And Zoro’s not fat! Nice!”</p><p>Zoro’s face went as ared as a fire engine. Luffy would’ve hugged him, had he not been carrying his backpack.</p><p>“By the way, Luffy, you’re No. 9.”</p><p>Luffy laughed as Sanji yelled at Zoro. He could tell that Zoro had been just dying to tell him that.</p><p>“Let’s go!” he shouted, running past his friends. Then, he felt a very familiar Haki signature nearby.</p><p>“RAYLEIGH!” he called excitedly to the man on the hill.</p><p>“I’m glad you found your friends,” Rayleigh said warmly.</p><p>“Thank you for everything, Rayleigh!” Luffy shouted.</p><p>“Yeah, yeah,” said Rayleigh, “Now get lost, kid.”</p><p>“One more thing!” Luffy punched the air as he promised Rayleigh, “I’m gonna do it! I’m gonna be King of the Pirates!”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Luffy wasn’t really surprised that Percy wasn’t there when they reached the Sunny.</p><p>Rayleigh had said, after all, that Percy would meet them on Fishman Island.</p><p>Still, he would’ve liked to see his whole crew together again. Everyone looked so cool now! Franky was a totally awesome robot, and Nami looked like a real knight in her celestial bronze armor.</p><p>“Luffy, we’ve got incoming!” Usopp hollered, pointing at the fleet of navy ships.</p><p>
  <em>Slave Arrow!</em>
</p><p>“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU WENT TO AMAZON LILY!?!” Sanji wailed, shaking Luffy by his shoulders.</p><p>“You ok, Sanji?” Luffy laughed.</p><p>Sanji curled up into a depressed ball, “It’s not fair,” he moaned, “I get sent to Newkama hell and this shitty gay captain gets sent to an island full of beautiful ladies? Run by a goddess?”</p><p>“Guys!”called Chopper, “The Marines are still shooting at us!”</p><p>But Chopper had barely finished his warning when a large wave swept the remaining navy ships away.</p><p>Luffy’s grin widened.</p><p>“Ready when you are, Captain!” said Nami.</p><p>Luffy got up on the bench, “Everybody listen up! There’s a lot I wanna say, but we don’t have a lot of time!”</p><p>“Story of our lives,” Zoro snorted.</p><p>“Thanks for putting up with my selfishness for two years!” said Luffy, “I know that was hard. Now, let’s go to Fishman Island!”</p><p>“Let’s go find Percy!” Nami cheered.</p><p>“Let’s go to the New World!” cheered Usopp.</p><p>With that, the bag under the ship fully deflated, and the Sunny sank beneath the waves.</p><p>Deep within the shadows under the mangrove roots, Percy watched as the Sunny dove under the water.</p><p>“I’ve missed you guys,” he said to himself, “Let’s get you to Fishman Island.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0029"><h2>29. Chapter 29</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which the Strawhats goof off, and Brook tells a story</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Sanji was in trouble.</p><p>On some level, he knew that he needed to get ahold of himself, but seeing Nami looking so radiant and beautiful, even when covered in a celestial bronze breastplate, he couldn’t help himself.</p><p>Zoro was never going to let him live this down.</p><p>The ocean hurt worse than the nosebleed; the pressure made his brain want to leak out of his ears.</p><p>“Uggh,” he moaned. Out of the corner of his eye, a small, dark shadow peeked out from behind a mangrove root. Sanji felt a gentle push on his back as the water carried him back to the ship.</p><p>“Interesting,” said Robin, “The water pushed him back to the ship.”</p><p>“It’s a mystery current!” Luffy announced, and that was that.</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>“Do you know where I was these past two years?” Sanji demanded, “Because I think that Kuma wasn’t such a great friend after all. In fact, I’d like to kick his metal face in!”</p><p>“Hang on, Sanji,” Brook tried to placate him, “We’ve all been through hardships. I was locked in a cage before Lady Hecate helped me and I became a pop sensation.”<br/>Nami looked up, “What did you just say, Brook?”</p><p>“I became a pop sensation?” Brook asked innocently.</p><p>A vein in Nami’s temple twitched, “Before that?”</p><p>“I was locked in a cage?”</p><p>Nami’s hand twitched toward her Climatact, “After that?”</p><p>“Lady Hecate helped me?”</p><p>“Hecate…” said Robin, “That’s the goddess of magic, right?”</p><p>Brook nodded, “Yes, and she’s the one who created the Devil Fruits.”</p><p>“What?!?” everyone exclaimed.</p><p>“Let me explain,” said Brook, “You see, it all started several thousand years ago, at the fall of Byzantium…”</p><p>
  <em>Unlike her godly brethren, Hecate, or Trivia, as she now must be called, found herself unaffected by the move to Rome.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Still, the splitting headaches, bipolar disorders and severe depression were something she’d like to avoid, if she could help it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>So, with Ceres’s help, Trivia enchanted an apple tree in the crumbling garden of the Hesperides to grow fruit that would give the user unimaginable powers.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Are you sure about this, Trivia?” asked Ceres, “we all know what happens when mortals get too much power.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Which is why we’ll send our fruits far away,” said Trivia, “To a place so far beyond the Gods’ reach that Jupiter will never know about it. The mortals will think the fruits are cursed.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“But they are cursed,” Ceres, “You asked Neptune to curse them, remember?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Trivia smiled mischieviously, “Of course I do. The mortals cannot gain such power without a cost, can they?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You would do well to remember your place, Trivia,” Ceres said haughtily, “A minor goddess, suck as yourself, has no right to mock me.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Of course, Lady Ceres,” said Trivia, putting on a cowed look, “But with this, the next time our seat of power moves, we’ll have an escape-a window to a realm that was once beyond our reach. Think of it like a vacation house.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I do like vacation houses,” Ceres mused, “Mine are always stocked with breakfast cereal.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“So you’ll help me, Lady Ceres?” asked Trivia.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Let’s just hope your plan works,” said Ceres.</em>
</p><p>Franky had never seen Robin look so excited, “The Fall of Byzantium,” she said eagerly, “That was the start of the Void Century. Brook, do you know what this means?”</p><p>“Lady Hecate is really old?” asked Brook, then, as an afterthought, “Only joking, Lady Hecate!”</p><p>“It means that Brook’s discovered a piece of the Ancient History,” Nami answered helpfully.</p><p>Robin got to her feet, “I have research to do,” she said eagerly, “Franky, are you coming?”</p><p>She didn’t really give Franky a chance to answer before running off to the library, dragging the cyborg behind her.</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>
  <em>Dear Nojiko,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I’m sorry I haven’t written in awhile; the past two years have been so insane, and I don’t think you’d believe me if I told you why. I can try, though.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>So, for starters, I met my birth mom. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>I know! Crazy, right? The crazier part is that she’s an all-powerful goddess.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>No, I’m not kidding; she’s an actual goddess. Look up the name Aphrodite; that should explain it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>There’s so much else I want to tell you, but I know the risk of this letter being intercepted is too high, especially with our captain’s notoriety.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Speaking of Luffy, he seems ok, all things considered. Having his friends with him seems to be helping</em>
</p><p>Nami put her pen down and sighed. How was she supposed to know what was and wasn’t helping Luffy? Luffy had never, at least, to her knowledge, experienced the kind of tragedy that comes from watching a family member get murdered in front of them.</p><p>Chopper had.</p><p>Robin had.</p><p>Franky had.</p><p>Nami had.</p><p>And Nami knew that if she were in Luffy’s shoes, she wouldn’t want to relive Ace’s death by talking about it.</p><p>“I can still be there for him,” she said to herself, “I can start by going out there and being with my crew.”</p><p>Nami left the little room she shared with Robin (and hopefully once they reached Fishman Island, Annabeth too), to find everyone gathered around a stranger bound in rope.</p><p>“Nami!” Usopp greeted, “We could use your help!”</p><p>Nami eyed the stranger wearily, “I take it I missed something.”</p><p>Zoro took out Shisui and rested the tip of the blade against the stranger’s dark throat, “This man calls himself Caribou. He boarded our ship and threatened to…what was it? Send us to Kingdom Come?”</p><p>Caribou whimpered.</p><p>“Anyway, the sea cow pulling his ship took off. Now he’s stranded,” Usopp finished.</p><p>“Cool,” Nami said blandly, “Ok, Caribou, we’ll let you come with us to Fishman Island, but you’re not going to get within 5 feet of any of our crew for the rest of the trip there, got it?”</p><p>“Got it,” Caribou said dreamily. One of the things that Nami learned while training with Selina was that charmspeak worked best when the target was attracted to the user. Looking at Caribou, Nami knew that wouldn’t be a problem. Just to be sure, though…</p><p>“And you’re going to swear,” Nami continued, “On the River Styx that you will leave our crew alone, capisce?”</p><p>“I swear on the River Styx that I will leave your crew alone,” Caribou recited, in a trance.</p><p>“You can untie him now,” Nami told Zoro, “He won’t be a problem.”</p><p>“Nami-san,” said Sanji, who was blatantly avoiding eye contact with her, “What is the River Styx?”</p><p>“A river in the Underworld,” said Nami, “And breaking an oath made on it…let’s just say there are worse things than death. Oh, look!” she said, drawing attention away from her potentially needing to answer any more hard questions, “There’s the downward current!”</p><p>“It’s beautiful!” Robin gushed.</p><p>“Wow!” Luffy cried from atop Sunny’s prow, “So cool!”</p><p>Zoro pulled him down, “Careful, idiot,” he scolded his captain, “You’re gonna get hurt.”</p><p>“But Zoro,” Luffy whined, “I wanna see!”</p><p>“It’s almost like a giant waterfall!” Usopp exclaimed.</p><p>It really was a sight to behold. A current that stretched the length of several football fields, the Downward Plume made the Sunny look miniscule in comparaison.</p><p>“Nature sure is cool, huh?” Chopper said eagerly.</p><p>“You bet,” Nami agreed.</p><p>“It’s like the sea is falling into the sea!” Luffy told Zoro excitedly, “Which doesn’t make sense but it’s true!”</p><p>“AAAH IT’S CRAZY DARK DOWN THERE!” Usopp shrieked.</p><p>Nami and the others peered into the gloom</p><p>only to find two giant, yellow eyes staring back at them.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0030"><h2>30. Chapter 30</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which the Monster Trio gets lost</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Usopp was about to die.</p><p>Yup, he was positive. He’d already written them off when he heard about this over 70% not making it to Fishman Island nonsense, of course, but now?</p><p>Who had ever faced the Kraken and lived?</p><p>Usopp was all for running away when that stupid Caribou had to go and suggest to the Monster Trio the mobile bubble idea.</p><p>“They’ll be ok,” Brook said sagely, “It’s Luffy, Zoro and Sanji we’re talking about.”</p><p>“I’M NOT WORRIED ABOUT THEM,” Usopp wailed, “…I’m worried about us!”</p><p>For good reason, too. When the Kraken slammed a tentacle the length of ten galleon ships at them, the Monster Trio was much too far away to do anything about it.</p><p>Fortunately, Franky had RPGs and Chopper and Robin had Devil Fruits.</p><p>
  <em>Guard Point!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Mil Fleurs! Gigantesco Mano!</em>
</p><p>“Yeah!” Usopp cheered. It made him happy to see how strong his friends had become in two years.</p><p>Then, Sanji, Zoro and Luffy knocked out the Kraken.</p><p>“Nice going!” Nami cheered, “Now come back!”</p><p>But they couldn’t, Usopp realized in horror; the Downward Plume was too strong. Too quickly for anyone to do anything about it, the Kraken and the Monster Trio’s bubbles were pulled down the current, the Sunny following after it.</p><p>Usopp’s head slammed against the rail, and everything went black. When he came to, everyone was looking at him worriedly.</p><p>“What’s wrong?” asked Usopp, “I’m awake now, so there’s no need to look at me like that!”</p><p>“Luffy, Zoro and Sanji got separated in the downward current,” said Chopper, “We have no idea where they are.”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>When Zoro lost his eye in an accident that shall not be named, he had to adjust pretty quickly to a rapid change in depth perception.</p><p>Floating along with Luffy and Sanji, watching all the giant, luminescent fish pass them by, Zoro had to imagine that the fish had terrible depth perception since they lived in such darkness all the time.</p><p>“Your swords are stabbing me in the side,” Sanji whined.</p><p>“If I wanted to stab you, ero-cook, I would’ve stabbed you three years ago,” Zoro snapped.</p><p>“If you two don’t stop arguing I’m gonna kick you out of my bubble!” Luffy declared.</p><p>That shut them up.</p><p>“What are we supposed to do now?” Sanji asked the group.</p><p>“Sit tight until the Sunny gets here?” Zoro suggested.</p><p>“Ok, but does someone wanna tell him that?” asked Luffy.</p><p>“Tell who?” asked Zoro.</p><p>Luffy pointed ahead, “Him.”</p><p>In front of them, an angler fish the size of several, large houses, was looking at them hungrily through large, red eyes.</p><p>“We could try fighting it,” Zoro mused.</p><p>“That’s what popped our bubbles,” Sanji reasoned with him.</p><p>“Then we run!” cried Luffy, and the Monster Trio kicked in the opposite direction as vigorously as they could. Zoro glanced behind him to see the angler fish opening its giant maw, its teeth glinting evilly in the light from its dangly thingy.</p><p>“Go faster!” he demanded.</p><p>“I can’t!” said Luffy, “The water’s too thick!”</p><p>Zoro knew he was right; running through water was like running in sand, but one hundred times worse.</p><p>“Look!” said Sanji.</p><p>Luffy, Zoro and Sanji could only watch in horrified fascination as the angler fish gave a great wail, blasting hot water at their bubble, as a small, dark shadow bisected the fish down the middle.</p><p>“Woah,” said Luffy, “That was intense.”</p><p>For once, Zoro and Sanji were in agreement.</p><p>Again, Zoro’s depth perception wasn’t what it once was, but he could’ve sworn he saw the shadow, perched like a frog on top of its prey, watching them with glowing blue eyes.</p><p>Could it be?</p><p>“Percy?” Zoro called through the gloom, Luffy and Sanji looking up sharply, “Is that you?”</p><p>The shadow disappeared behind the fish carcass.</p><p>“I thought you only lost one eye,” Sanji hit him on the shoulder, “Not two. What the hell was that?”</p><p>“Shut up!” Zoro snapped, twisting around to retaliate, “You didn’t see the shadow with the glowing blue eyes?”</p><p>“Zoro, I wanna see Percy too, but I didn’t see anything either,” Luffy said in his serious voice. Zoro loved Luffy’s serious voice; it showed him a side of their captain that was rarely seen.</p><p>“Whatever,” said Zoro, “You didn’t see it. But how do you explain what happened to the fish?”</p><p>“It’s the deep sea,” said Sanji, “Maybe it just cracked under the water pressure.”</p><p>“Yeah,” said Zoro as they swam away from the fish carcass, “Maybe.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0031"><h2>31. Chapter 31</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Percy loses his teeth and Fukaboshi tries to be a good brother</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>
  <em>Fukaboshi wasn’t sure how he felt about Percy Jackson.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>One day, he was sparing with his brothers when their father had broken the news to them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They had a little brother.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sure, everyone knew about demigods. Their father was an old and powerful deity; of course he had to have some of his own.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Fukaboshi just didn’t think he’d ever have to meet one.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But then his little brother created an earthquake powerful enough to sink a third of Sabaody, and Fukaboshi was forced to meet the demigod brother he never wanted.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Yet as hard as he tried, Fukaboshi couldn’t bring himself to dislike the boy. Percy was earnest, sincere, and kind. Best of all, he could pass through solid walls. Percy spent a great deal of time hanging out with Shirahoshi simply because he was the only one who could get in without opening the door. Percy was special.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Which is why he couldn’t fathom how this had happened.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Fukaboshi had been out for lunch with Mamboshi and Ryuboshi when they had gotten a call from the palace. Percy had been missing all day. After several hours of frantic searching, the princes had found their little brother in an alley deep within the Fish-Man district.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“What in the name of King Neptune are you doing?” demanded Fukaboshi, aiming his sword at a large, burly squid fishman that had Percy pinned by the throat. Percy was unconscious with blood pouring from his mouth.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The squid gave the prince an evil sneer, “Just helping the Prince with a makeover.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Judging by the fact that Percy was unconscious, Fukaboshi suspected that the ‘makeover’ was unwanted.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>After taking care of the squid, the princes brought Percy back to the palace, where they discovered, to their horror, that the squid had knocked out all of Percy’s teeth.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It had taken a week for Percy’s teeth to grow back. But when they did…</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Come on, Percy,” Mamboshi had tried to soothe his little brother, “They’re not that bad.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"They might make you a better singer," Ryuboshi had said earnestly.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Percy hadn’t said a word since that day (Fukaboshi wasn’t sure that humans could speak without teeth; he’d have to ask father). When he wasn’t out in the deep ocean fighting sea monsters, Percy’s new favorite hobby was sitting curled in a ball in his room, refusing to even look at anyone.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Fukaboshi had had enough of it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Enough of this, little brother,” he said firmly, perching on the end of Percy’s bed, “You’re making Shirahoshi cry.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Percy looked up at him dully before returning to his ball, mumbling that everything made Shirahoshi cry.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Fukaboshi gave a half-hearted laugh, “That’s true enough.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The two sat in silence; Fukaboshi unsure of what he was supposed to do (the Royal Family had counselors for a reason, damnit!) and Percy unwilling to contribute.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Want me to go down to the prison and knock out all of his teeth?” Fukaboshi suggested.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>This earned him a small snort, then an even smaller sob.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Hey, hey,” Fukaboshi rubbed Percy’s back just like his mother did whenever he was upset as a kid, “It’s not that bad.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“My friends are gonna think I’m a monster,” Percy said in a little, heartbroken voice, “I thought the Curse of Achilles was supposed to protect me from injuries.” He turned to look at his fishman brother, showing off his new, pointed teeth, “Why didn’t it protect me from this?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Getting your teeth knocked out must not be a big enough injury,” Fukaboshi guessed. In reality, he had no idea why the squid had been successful, “And as for you being a monster, I have pointed teeth too. Does that make me a monster?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Percy shot up.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“No!” he said hastily, “But it’s different for you. You’re a shark merman. I’m human; I’m not supposed to have shark teeth.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Fukaboshi wasn’t hurt by Percy’s comments; they had a certain degree of merit. Percy was neither human nor fishman, but now he neither looked human nor like a fishman.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Maybe Fukaboshi would go pay that squid a visit, or maybe send Mamboshi to do it; his bongo-loving brother simply adored Percy and would never pass up an opportunity to bash up anyone who hurt Percy, all while playing a tune on his bongos.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Percy laughed humorlessly at the look on Fukaboshi’s face, “Just admit it; everyone treats me like an outcast because I’m not supposed to be here. At least now, I actually look like one.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>At this, Fukaboshi was at a loss for words.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Percy went back to his ball.</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0032"><h2>32. Chapter 32</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which the Strawhats accidentally take over Fishman Island</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Caribou was in a good mood.</p><p>He’d managed to slip out of his meagre restraints in the darkness of the Deep Sea, and found a nice, comfy barrell to hide out in.</p><p>“Now that the only three that could put up a fight are gone,” he giggled to himself, “I can bring the navy the rest of the Strawhats’ heads as a prize.”</p><p>He thought briefly to that strange promise that the red head made him make, and found that it made him uneasy.</p><p>“Ridiculous,” he scoffed, “I don’t know what strange devil fruit she has, but promises are made to be broken.”</p><p>What Caribou failed to notice was Franky standing within 5 feet of his barrell.</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>“Guys, I found him!” Franky called, “Oh, wait…”</p><p>Franky watched in horror as the weird goopy man screamed and disintegrated into a pile of acidic goo. A deep, dark crack opened through the ship and swallowed the pile, only to close up again as if it had never been there.</p><p>“What the hell was that?” Franky demanded.</p><p>“The deep sea is scary!” Chopper wailed, clinging to Usopp for comfort (which wasn’t super helpful; Usopp was just as freaked out as Chopper was).</p><p>Nami looked like she’d seen a ghost.</p><p>“I’ve never seen anyone actually break an oath made on the Styx,”she said shakily.</p><p>“So he’s dead,” Brook guessed.</p><p>“Like I said,” said Nami-Gods, she wished Sanji were here; she could really use a hug-“there are worse things than death.”</p><p>The Strawhats found that no one, not even Robin, was willing to ask what Nami meant.</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>The giant fishman sobbing over the carcass of an enormous angler fish was certainly unexpected.</p><p>“Um,” Chopper hesitated, “Are you ok?”</p><p>“No!” the giant fishman wailed, “My poor Ankoro is dead!”</p><p>“We’re sorry,” Brook apologized, “I’m sure he was a beloved pet.”</p><p>“Thank you,” the giant fishman sniffed, “Captain Vander Decken will like you.”</p><p>Robin stiffened, “Did you say Vander Decken?”</p><p>
  <em>Dead man tell no tales…</em>
</p><p>The Strawhats screamed in horror at the Flying Dutchman looming from the depths of the sea.</p><p>“WHERE’S PERCY?” Usopp sobbed, cowering behind Franky’s massive figure, “HE WOULD BE SO HELPFUL RIGHT NOW.”</p><p>The giant fishman stopped crying, “Did you say Percy?”</p><p>“He’s part of our crew,” said Brook, “Do you know him, fishman-san?”</p><p>The giant fishman gave a piercing shriek before running at full speed towards the Flying Dutchman, “Captain! We have to get out of here! He’s back!”</p><p>The Strawhats heard several shouts of anguish from aboard the ship before the ship and the giant fishman sped away into the darkness.</p><p>“That was weird,” said Chopper.</p><p>“Seems Percy has quite the reputation,” Robin mused.</p><p>“But where is he?” Usopp wailed.</p><p>“I don’t know about Percy,” said Franky, pointing, “But there are Luffy, Zoro and Sanji.”</p><p>“Why do they have the Kraken with them?” Nami shrieked.</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Usopp was convinced that Sanji was an idiot.</p><p>Why else would he be killing himself over boobs?</p><p>“Your friend is going to die and you are coming to the fishman district with me,” sneered the red-head fishman, “No self-respecting fishman would ever share blood with disgusting creatures like you.”</p><p>Usopp felt a pit form in his stomach. He figured after how the people on Sabaody had treated Hachi and Kaimi that this would be the case when they reached Fishman Island, but it was still hard to watch.</p><p>“Luffychin!”</p><p>The Strawhats looked up to see that Kaimi had hijacked the Royal Caravan. Wasting no time, Luffy slingshotted himself, Usopp, Chopper and Sanji onto the head of the fish pulling the caravan.</p><p>“Wait!” the eldest prince called as they flew away, “We had messages! From Jinbe and Percy!”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Luffy was glad they’d helped Sanji and found Brook and Pappagu.</p><p>Still, he was eager to find the rest of his crew. He knew they could take care of themselves, but still…two years was a long time to be separated, only to be pulled apart again.</p><p>“Cheer up, Luffy!” Pappagu slapped him on the back.</p><p>“Who said I wasn’t cheerful?” Luffy pouted.</p><p>“I’ll tell you about the mermaid princess,” said Pappagu, “That should lift your spirits.”</p><p>“Yohohohohohoho!” Brook laughed, “She must be quite a vision!”</p><p>“Isn’t she 16,” Luffy pointed out flatly.</p><p>Brook sweat dropped, “Yes?”<br/>“And you’re what? 90?” Pappagu added helpfully.</p><p>Brook’s sweat dropping increased, “A gentleman never reveals his age, you know, yohohoho.”</p><p>“And she’s Lord Percychin’s little sister!” Kaimi said cheerfully.</p><p>A mental image of Percy ripping Brook apart, bone by bone, and feeding him to a whale, flashed into the Strawhats’ heads.</p><p>“Yohohoho,” Brook said shrilly, “Never mind then.”</p><p>“Let’s go check out the store!” said Kaimi.</p><p>“Wait, Kaimi-,” Pappagu said feebly, “What about my story?”</p><p>“Yeah!” cheered Luffy, Brook and Usopp.</p><p>The Strawhats, Kaimi and Pappagu found Nami in the store, trying to get 50% off on an enormous pile of clothes.</p><p>“Hi Namichin!”</p><p>Nami grinned, “Hi Kaimi!” then she picked up Pappagu by the cheek, “What kind of extortion ring are you running here?”</p><p>Pappagu laughed nervously, “Well, you see there’s this thing called brand equity-,”</p><p>Nami tightened her grip.</p><p>“Ok!” Pappagu relented, “I guess we owe you one, so everything’s free!”</p><p>Pappagu sweat dropped as Nami proceeded to pick the store clean.</p><p>“Oi, Nami?” asked Usopp, “Why didn’t you just charmspeak the manager into giving you the clothes.”<br/>Nami glared at him, “Because that’s stealing, you jerk! And where’s the fun in that?”</p><p>Usopp supposed he should be grateful that Nami thought that allowing others to have free will was ‘fun’. The Monster Trio may be powerful, but Usopp was starting to think that Nami might be the most dangerous one on the ship.</p><p>“Monsieur!” a man in a suit scrambled into the store, “We have a situation!”</p><p>Pappagu adjusted his sunglasses and rolled his eyes, “What now?”</p><p>“He’s here!”</p><p>Pappagu sighed, “Because that isn’t vague at all.”</p><p>Still, their party went outside, curious to see what all the commotion was.</p><p>
  <em>“Jamon.”</em>
</p><p>All of the fishmen and merfolk outside were bowing. Quickly, Kaimi, Pappagu and Nami did the same.</p><p>“Lord Neptune!” cried a mermaid with blue hair.</p><p>“So that’s King Neptune?” asked Usopp, “He’s bigger than I imagined.”</p><p>“His kids are pretty tiny compared to him,” Luffy agreed.</p><p>It was true that King Neptune was a giant. Being a major, powerful God, Neptune could take whatever form he desired.</p><p>“Though why he’d choose that beard is beyond me,” Nami muttered under her breath.</p><p>That was when Nami caught the King’s attention. A white funnel appeared around the King as he shrank down to their height. When he emerged, he was unrecognizable to everyone except the Strawhats.</p><p>“Percy?” Luffy gasped.</p><p>Poseidon threw back his head and let out a big, booming laugh. Luffy hadn’t had a bath in a long time, but now he felt like he’d just taken a nice, warm one, with lots of bubbles.</p><p>“You flatter me, Monkey d. Luffy,” he said in a low, rumbling voice, “Nami, your mother sends her love.”</p><p>“Not my mom,” Nami huffed under her breath before saying out loud, “Thank you, Lord Poseidon.”</p><p>“Poseidon?” asked Brook, “Yohohoho! I thought this was King Neptune.”</p><p>“It’s complicated, Brook,” said Poseidon, “But for now, if you’re willing, I’d like to take all of you to the Ryugu Palace. Percy’s been dying to see you.”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Nami’s first impression of Poseidon was that the Lord of the Seas was kind of a dork.</p><p>In her dream from so long ago, Aphrodite had radiated power and grace. Nami supposed that Poseidon did too, but it was with an air that he didn’t notice his own power or grace. Honestly, it reminded her a lot of Percy.</p><p>Or-it would, if Poseidon could make up his mind on what form he wanted to take. He kept switching from a giant merman with an impressive orange beard to a tanned, older version of Percy in a loud, Hawaiian shirt.</p><p>Gods, she missed Percy. But according to Poseidon, Percy was waiting for them at the Palace.</p><p>"Um, Lord Neptune, uh, Poseidon, sir?" Usopp asked hesitantly.</p><p>Neptune glanced at Usopp, "Neptune for now, boy. My greek form requires a great deal of concentration while I'm here."</p><p>"Well, there's my question," said Usopp, "Why are you here? Percy always said that the Grand Line was too far out of the Gods' sphere of influence for the Gods to reside here."</p><p>Neptune hummed thoughtfully, making Nami think of gentle waves lapping against a sea shore, "He's half right. The Grand Line is too far out of the <em>Greek </em>Gods' sphere of influence; when we moved to Rome, Hecate created a back door, so to speak-,"</p><p>"Brook already told us this story," Luffy whined, "You're boring, old man!"</p><p>Pappagu smacked him in his rubbery head, "He can turn you into a clam with a single thought, baka!"</p><p>Neptune cleared his throat, "Yes, well the Grand Line is a bit like my summer home. Oh, look, we're here!"</p><p>Neptune pressed a button on the outside of the gate.</p><p><em>“Yeah?” </em>the guard said rudely.</p><p>“Neptune,” Neptune said gruffly.</p><p>
  <em>“Eeek! Right away, your majesty!”</em>
</p><p>What awaited them beyond the gate took Nami’s breath away. The first thing that hit her was the myriad of colors that shouldn’t have even existed this far under the sea. The palace itself was a soft, coral pink, with bright blue windows dotted all over. The ornate, golden front doors stretched so far above their heads that Nami couldn’t quite see their tops. Fish in every color of the rainbow floated lazily in and out of the windows. A hippocampus swam up to Nami and nuzzled her hand before swimming off to play with its friends.</p><p>“Luffy, you’re buying me one,” she said dreamily.</p><p>The ministers they met inside were total buzzkills. How they had the balls to scold a God like that was beyond Nami.</p><p>“He’s a weird one,” said Usopp.</p><p>“I would have to agree with that statement,” said Brook, “He’s much more laid back than Lady Hecate.”</p><p>Nami blinked. Sometimes she forgot that Brook was the only one amongst them to have actually met a God before that day (she didn’t care what others thought; meeting your birth mom in a dream didn’t count).</p><p>Pappagu coughed and everyone looked down at him, “Where’s Luffy?”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Zoro was bored.</p><p>The royal fishmen guards had been nice enough at first; they’d even fed him and given him enough sake to give him a good nap.</p><p>But then he woke up in a cell.</p><p>This was nothing new; he’d woken up in plenty of cells before. He was starting to miss Luffy though.</p><p>Ah well, Luffy could take care of himself.</p><p>“Just sit tight, Roronoa,” said guard #1.</p><p>“Your friends will be here soon,” said guard #2.</p><p>Zoro rolled his eye, “Fat chance.”</p><p>“You’re as tactful as ever.”</p><p>Zoro’s eye widened at the sight of Percy Jackson, standing in front of his cell, “Bout time you decided to show up.”</p><p>“Tch,” Percy snorted, “If it weren’t for me, you’d’ve drowned at least five times on the way here.”</p><p>“So that was you I saw,” Zoro reasoned, “You asshole, you could’ve come back with us.”</p><p>“Lord Percy,” guard #1 said nervously, “You know Roronoa Zoro.”</p><p>“He’s an old friend,” Percy said smoothly, “Wanna tell me why he’s in a cell?”<br/>“We have orders to arrest all the Strawhat Pirates,” guard #2 told him, “Madam Sharley had a vision that the Strawhats are going to destroy the island.”</p><p>Percy held out his arms as if saying ‘come at me’, “Oh? I’m a Strawhat too; are you going to arrest me?”</p><p>The guards shared looks, “No, your highness, but-,”</p><p>“Come on, guys,” said Percy, “Can you cut my friend here some slack? I promise if he's really planning on destroying the island, I’ll bring his head back to you on a silver platter.”</p><p>Zoro rose an eyebrow, but the guards relented, unlocking the cell door and swimming hastily away, muttering something about half-bloods the whole way.</p><p>If Percy were Luffy, Zoro would have embraced him. Not just because Luffy was…well, Luffy, but because Luffy craved physical affection.</p><p>But Percy had a look in his eyes that screamed, <em>“Touch me and I’ll gut you.”</em></p><p>The distant sound of fighting filled the silence.</p><p>Percy sighed, “Go.”</p><p>“You’re not coming?” Zoro asked.</p><p>“I heard crying from my sister’s room,” said Percy, “I’m gonna go check on her. I’ll join you when I’m done.”</p><p>Zoro took in Percy’s appearance. His hair was longer, his teeth sharper, his body much, much thinner (geez, he looked anorexic) and his skin much paler.</p><p>But then Percy threw him that same, lopsided grin, “Come on, man, Luffy’s probably waiting for you out there.”</p><p>Zoro didn’t need telling twice.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0033"><h2>33. Chapter 33</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which the New Fishman Pirates invade and Percy explains some stuff</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>Percy found Luffy in the Hard Shell tower, yelling at his giant, mermaid sister.</p><p>Forming his seastone sword in the water, Percy used it to bonk Luffy over the head.</p><p>Or, he tried to, anyway; Luffy definitely learned haki with Rayleigh, because he easily dodged Percy’s sword.</p><p>His rubbery face lit up with delight when he saw Percy, “Percy!”</p><p>Shirahoshi, sensing what Luffy was about to do before Percy did, tried to stop him, “No! Mr. Stranger, don’t-,”</p><p>Too late, Luffy had embraced Percy in a hug, and Percy was flung back into a nightmare.</p><p>
  <em>“Percy!” Annabeth wailed, eyes blank and unseeing. Percy tried to go to her, but the arai held him down and made him watch as Annabeth stepped headfirst off a cliff.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Annabeth!” he screamed.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You doomed Calypso to an eternity of solitude,” an arai whispered in his ear, “Now we will enact her revenge.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>A set of sharp teeth buried themselves in Percy’s neck, and Percy howled.</em>
</p><p>“PERCY!”<br/>Percy woke to a punch to the face. Luffy knelt, just outside range of his sword, looking uncharacteristically worried.</p><p>Percy gulped, “So, uh…that just happened.”</p><p>“I get flashbacks too,” Luffy said matter-of-factly, as if it wasn’t that big a deal, “Of when Ace died. So far, they’ve been pretty easy to hide from the crew, but some stuff sets me off.”</p><p>He took another cautious step towards where Percy was slumped against the door, “You didn’t used to get these, right?”</p><p>Shirahoshi, eyes, as usual, wet with tears, opened her mouth to explain what she knew, but Percy cut her off with a glare.</p><p>“It’s not important,” he told Luffy, “I just don’t like being touched. What are you doing in here, anyway?” he asked before Luffy could press the issue.</p><p>Luffy grinned, “I’m gonna take this crybaby out to see the sights!”</p><p>Percy eyed Luffy critically, “You know, the others are fighting my dad’s guards in the throne room right now.”</p><p>“Aw, they’ll be fine,” said Luffy, “They got reeeeally strong.”</p><p>He reached for Percy’s sword, “See, you got strong too! Cool sword!”</p><p>Percy snatched it away before Luffy could hurt himself, “Look don’t touch, genius. It’s made of seastone.”</p><p>Luffy gagged and pulled his hand away, “Ugh! You could really hurt someone with that.”</p><p>Percy rolled his eyes, “That’s the point.”</p><p>Despite his breakdown earlier and his mild annoyance at Luffy’s carefree view on their current situation, Percy couldn’t help smiling; he’d really missed Luffy. He was glad that Luffy’s trauma hadn’t changed him too much.</p><p>Percy wondered if his own trauma had changed him too much for his friends to like him anymore.</p><p>“Anyway, do you wanna come?” Luffy asked brightly.</p><p>“Oh, please, Percy nii-san!” Shirahoshi begged, “Luffy-san promised to keep me safe from Vander Decken, but I’d feel so much safer with you there.”</p><p>Percy frowned. Before Hera had ripped him away from Fishman Island and the Grand Line, he’d been tracking down Vander Decken as a favor to his father. Percy still didn’t understand why Neptune couldn’t incinerate Vander Decken without ever having to leave the Ryugu Palace, but he’d grown quite fond of Shirahoshi. His sister actually liked talking to him; hunting down her would-be assassin was the least he could do.</p><p>Percy came really close to catching him once, but that giant fishman that pulled their ship proved to be a good distraction. Percy came away from that fight with a chip in his seastone sword and the knowledge that he needed to be a lot stronger if he ever had a hope of catching the Flying Dutchman.</p><p>“Oi,” Luffy waved a hand in Percy’s face, “Are you coming or not?”</p><p>Percy shrugged, “Why not? I’m not doing myself any favors by sticking around here.”</p><p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>Neptune, God of the Seas, was bound in iron chains.</p><p>The chains felt a little unnecessary, but the Strawhats were Percy’s friends, so Neptune allowed himself and his staff to be taken hostage.</p><p>They were exceptionally annoying though.</p><p>“Did you really have to tie up the God of the Seas?” the long-nosed one wailed.</p><p>Neptune could tell that the green-haired one (Zori, or something along those lines) was in over his green head. Still, Neptune could appreciate the need to assert authority.</p><p>“Shut up!” Zori snapped, “Would you rather get captured?”</p><p>“My plan was to run away. I KNOW you heard me say that!” the long-nosed one shouted.</p><p>Nami, clever, rational, Nami, bowed in front of Neptune, “My Lord, please don’t turn us into plankton,” she begged, “And while you’re at it, pretty pretty please tell us where your treasury is!”</p><p>Neptune had to bight his tongue to keep from laughing. Did all of Aphrodite’s children possess such gumption?</p><p>“YOU’RE NOT HELPING!” the long-nosed one roared.</p><p>
  <em>BOOM!</em>
</p><p>Neptune cursed. Vander Decken must have been attacking Shirahoshi again.</p><p>And all of her guards were tied up with Neptune in the throne room.</p><p>Gods, Neptune missed Otohime; his deceased love was far too organized to ever allow such a thing to happen.</p><p>If only she hadn’t refused his offer of immortality…</p><p>“Listen up, Strawhats!” he ordered. Everyone fell silent.</p><p>“An evil fishman by the name of Vander Decken is trying to kill my very-mortal daughter, Shirahoshi,” Neptune announced, “Nami, daughter of Aphrodite, as the only demigod here, I’m issuing you a quest to go and save her!”</p><p>“Why can’t Percy do it?” Nami whined, “He’s gotta be around here somewhere, right?”</p><p>Neptune glared at her. There was a fine line between gumption and insolence, and Nami was wobbling dangerously close to insolence.</p><p>Nami gulped, “Of course! Yes, right away, Lord Neptune!”</p><p>She spun on her brown heel and turned to the rest of her crew, “Listen up! I’m gonna take Brook, Kaimi and Pappagu to go and help the princess. Zoro and Usopp, you stay here and hold down the fort.”<br/>Zoro saluted, “M’am yes m’am!”</p><p>“Why do we have to do it?” Usopp sobbed.</p><p>“Let’s go see panties!” Brook cheered.</p><p>Nami thwacked him over the head before Neptune could turn Brook into plankton, “Stop being a pedo! Let’s go!”</p><p>Neptune sighed. If only Percy were here; he was far more experienced than Nami and their mortal friends.</p><p>If only he could fix this himself…</p><p>But no, Hecate was always very clear on the rules for the Grand Line. In order for the Gods to be able to exist on the Grand Line, they couldn’t intervene in mortal affairs. Neptune was still immortal, of course, and could still wield his trident, but helping Shirahoshi was out of the question.</p><p>Just as quickly as they’d left, Brook returned, alone.</p><p>“She’s not there!” Brook said cheerfully.</p><p>Neptune’s face darkened, “What do you mean she isn’t there?”</p><p>He tried sensing Shirahoshi, but on the Grand Line, his senses were dulled to a frustrating level. If his daughter was still alive, Neptune couldn’t feel her.</p><p>“She’s been kidnapped!” wailed the Minister of the Right, “We saw Strawhat Luffy leave with the princess and Prince Perseus. They kidnapped her! Prince Perseus is a Strawhat.”</p><p>Neptune stiffened. Not this nonsense again…</p><p>“And pirates are crashing into the palace,” Brook added helpfully.</p><p>“We’ll cut them,” said Zori, thumbing the sheath of his black sword.</p><p>“YOU’RE NOT HELPING!” hollered the long-nosed one.</p><p>The front doors flung open with a loud bang. The sound of many groans shuffled toward them like a hoard of zombies.</p><p>“They’re here!” Brook shrieked.</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Luffy was having a grand old time on Fishman Island.</p><p>First they got to see a giant giraffe, and that was so COOL!!! Then they went so fast and entered Fishman Island by force (because that was the only fun way to do it, obviously). Then Sanji got a nosebleed and almost died and the fishmen were weird about saving him, but it was ok, because they found Sanji the blood he needed.</p><p>Now, well-fed and reunited with Percy, Luffy was on his way to a new adventure with weepy-hoshi (his new nickname for the princess; Percy acted like he didn’t appreciate it, but Luffy knew he thought it was funny).</p><p>A fish taxi passed by and Luffy waved cheerfully at its occupants.</p><p>“Hi!” he called.</p><p>The fishmen and merfolk inside took one look at Percy, and scowled before looking away. Percy tensed and Luffy caught the wild look in his eyes that reminded Luffy of the look Percy’d had on his face back in the palace before Luffy had hugged him. Luffy knew he should do something before Percy devolved into a pale, shaky mess again.</p><p>“That was rude,” Luffy pouted, “What did we do to them, anyway?”</p><p>“You didn’t do anything, Luffy,” Percy assured him in a small voice, “I’m just not very popular here.”</p><p>Luffy frowned, “But you’re awesome and your old man’s in charge of everything, right?”</p><p>“Percy nii-san is half human,” Shirahoshi supplied when Percy wouldn’t answer, “The fishmen and merfolk who hate humans don’t like him because he’s proof that fishmen and humans can co-exist, and everyone else doesn’t like him because he’s proof that chichiue wasn’t always faithful to my mother.”</p><p>Luffy’s hand unconsciously traced the starburst-shaped scar on his chest, “That sounds lonely.”</p><p>“It’s not so bad,” Percy tried to reassure his captain and his sister, “Shirahoshi and our brothers are great, and I got to go home for a year after the Giant War and finish school and be with my family and girlfriend, but…”</p><p>“But?” Luffy prompted as the sea floor drifted ever closer.</p><p>Percy fidgeted nervously with the beads on his leather necklace, “She was supposed to join me here while we waited for you. I was gonna ask if she could join the crew.”</p><p>Percy gulped, blinking back tears, “We-we got separated on the way here. My dad blessed the trip over-that’s the only way for demigods to get to the Grand Line without passing through Raftel-but she got blown off course. I have no idea where she is.”</p><p>
  <em>Percy most likely dead after that earthquake.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Zoro gone in the blink of an eye.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Brook</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Usopp </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sanji</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Franky</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Nami</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Robin</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Chopper</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Just, gone.</em>
</p><p>Luffy snapped out of it just in time for Megalo to spit Percy’s giant mermaid sister out of his mouth, and send all four of them crashing to the ground.</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>“It’s been ten years since your assassination in public. Lord Neptune is doing well. Shirahoshi is safe. Your sons have grown into fine, young men. You even have a stepson now; I do my best to keep him and your children safe. I hope that’s enough, Queen Otohime.”</p><p>Boss Jinbe laid a bouquet of luminescent, under sea flowers on his fair queen’s grave and sat to wait.</p><p>He just had to hope that Luffy got his message.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0034"><h2>34. Chapter 34</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Percy avenges his sister</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Sanji was in the seventh heaven.</p><p>Sure, he still felt kind of dizzy, but who wouldn’t, when faced with the mermaid princess?</p><p>“THE STRAWHATS KIDNAPPED THE PRINCESS!”</p><p>“We did what?” Chopper shrieked, “Luffy, say it isn’t true!”</p><p>“We didn’t kidnap anyone!” Luffy protested hotly, “Weepy-hoshi, Percy, tell them!”</p><p>“Percy!” Chopper cried in delight at the dark head peeking out from behind the princess’ giant, pink tail.</p><p>“Hi, Chopper,” Percy said warmly, “Sanji, good to see you.”<br/>“You too,” Sanji grinned, “And this is your gorgeous sister?”</p><p>Shirahoshi was the most magnificently beautiful girl Sanji had ever seen. He could feel his blood waiting to leave his nose, and Chopper wailing and beating on his back but still, he resisted. The mermaid princess may have been drop-dead gorgeous, but looking at Percy, Sanji couldn’t help but think of Reiju, and how much he’d hate it if men objectified his somewhat-tolerable sister in front of him.</p><p>So, he held it in.</p><p>“Sanji!” Chopper cried happily, “I’m so proud of you!”</p><p>Percy shot Sanji a questioning look, but Sanji waved him off, “Don’t mind Chopper; he’s just excited.”</p><p>That was when the fishmen decided to get bold, and tied up Sanji, Chopper, Luffy, Hachi and Percy.</p><p>“We did it!” cheered a red fishman.</p><p>“We saved the princess!” cheered a fishman with tentacles.</p><p>Sanji found this odd. Not that the fishmen thought they were kidnappers; they’d been accused of far worse things before. No, he wondered why the locals had tied up Percy as well.</p><p>A puffer fishman struck Percy over the head with a wooden plank hard enough to knock the demigod over, “I knew you were going to be a menace, you filthy half-blood!”</p><p>“Percy!” Chopper cried.</p><p>Blood trickled down Percy’s face, and still Percy remained silent.</p><p>“Leave Lord Percy alone!” cried Hachi.</p><p>A spotted fishman poked Hachi with his own wooden plank, “You’re up to no good as always, Hahci. First you join the Arlong Pirates, now you’re friends with the bastard prince? We should turn you in to the royal army too!”</p><p>Sanji felt his blood boil, “Percy, what’s their problem?”</p><p>Percy didn’t answer.</p><p>“I promise I’m ok,” the princess said tearfully, “Please leave my brother and his friends alone!”</p><p>Sanji’s too startled at the fishmen’s attitudes to say anything in Percy’s defense before his observation haki tells him of an inbound projectile.</p><p>“What’s that?” Luffy demanded.</p><p>“We’re not that stupid, human,” sneered a merman with a yellow tail. Despite that, several fishmen and merfolk looked up.</p><p>“What the hell is that?” said Sanji.</p><p>A giant piece of coral hurtled towards them at terminal speed, a horrifically ugly fishman in a ghastly, yellow cap standing atop it.</p><p>“YOU’RE MINE, SHIRAHOSHI!” roared the ugly fishman, “ACCEPT MY LOVE OR DIE!”</p><p>“Vander Decken!” a red-tailed mermaid cried, “Princess Shirahoshi’s lived in a tower for 10 years thanks to you!”</p><p>“You won’t get away with it!” someone else agreed.</p><p>“You’re just not my type!” Shirahoshi cried, making everyone faceplant comically.</p><p>“THAT’S THE REASON?” everyone shouted, surprised.</p><p>Meanwhile, Luffy sprung into action, activating his second gear and smashing the ugly fishman into the ground.</p><p>“Oi, Percy,” Sanji muttered to the Strawhats’ resident Fishman Island expert, “Who’s this asshole?”</p><p>Percy gave him a wicked grin that reminded Sanji far too much of his sadistic brother Niji. “Vander Decken,” Percy cackled. Then, to everyone’s great astonishment, Percy dissolved into water, reforming on top of Vander Decken.</p><p>“Gahh! Not you again!” cried Vander Decken.</p><p>The fishman in the ghastly yellow hat struggled to get away, but Percy pulled a terrifyingly large, green sword out of goddamn nowhere and used it to pin Vander Decken to the ground.</p><p>“I’ve been looking for you, Vander Decken,” Percy leaned in and whispered loudly in his ear, “You’re a very hard fish to find.”</p><p>“Leave me alone, half-blood,” Vander Decken cried.</p><p>“Oi, Percy,” Sanji tried to calm him down, “You don’t wanna do anything you’re gonna regret tomorrow.”</p><p>Percy shot him an annoyed look, “I know that.” It made Sanji uneasy that Percy didn’t seem to mean it.</p><p>“Hey!” Vander Decken protested and struggled as Percy ripped the red glove off his right hand, “No, don’t!”</p><p>SLAP!<br/>“There you go,” said Percy, giving Vander Decken a high-five, “If I catch you trying to make my sister your mark again, I will hunt you down and rip your head off.”</p><p>“Percy!” Luffy said sharply, “Knock it off and untie us! We gotta go!”</p><p>Percy rolled his eyes and got off Vander Decken, “Fine, fine.”</p><p>“Just wait a second!”</p><p>“Yeah, we gotta take you and the bastard prince to the royal guards!”</p><p>“Oh?” Sanji looked at the fishmen surrounding them, “Luffy and Percy just saved the princess, and still you’re acting like this?”</p><p>Chopper tugged on Sanji’s pant leg, “Let’s get out of here,” he said sadly, “You’re not gonna change their minds about humans or Percy, and we need to get somewhere safe to treat Hachi.”</p><p>Sanji grit his teeth and glanced at Percy, “Yeah, let’s get out of here.”</p><p>So the four Strawhats, plus Shirahoshi and Hachi, fled for the Sea Forest on the back of Shirahoshi’s pet shark.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0035"><h2>35. Chapter 35</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Nami has a vision and Zoro goes for a swim</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Nami was of the opinion that escaping an underwater palace was the absolute worst time to slip into a vision.</p><p>“Nami? Nami!”</p><p>Kaimi’s frantic shouting faded to white noise. When Nami’s surroundings refocused, she knew she wasn’t on Fishman Island anymore; the beach and the sun were too real.</p><p><em>“Where am I?” </em>she said aloud, hoping someone would provide her with answers<em>.</em></p><p>
  <em>“Elysium, I think.”</em>
</p><p>Nami turned to locate the voice and choked back a sob. There, lounging in the sand, looking decidedly wholer than he had in the newspaper, was Portgas d. Ace.</p><p><em>“Sooo,” </em>Ace said awkwardly, <em>“Gods are real, huh?”</em></p><p>Nami thought back to a conversation the Strawhats had with Rayleigh on the worst day of her life. Rayleigh had mentioned that Gol d Roger was a son of the Roman God Mercury, which meant…</p><p><em>“You’re a demigod,” </em>she told him, <em>“That’s why you’re here.”</em></p><p>Ace scratched his head awkwardly, <em>“Pluto explained to me during my trial that I’m something called a legacy. No idea what that means.”</em></p><p><em>“Your dad was a son of the Roman God Mercury,” </em>Nami explained kindly, <em>“God of Thieves and Messengers.”</em></p><p><em>“Huh,” </em>said Ace, <em>“Maybe that’s why I finally got through to you. I’m a descendant of the Messenger God.”</em></p><p><em>“But why me, Ace?” </em>asked Nami, <em>“Wouldn’t you rather see Luffy again?”</em></p><p>At this, Ace looked frustrated, <em>“I can’t; Luffy is mortal. You’ll have to do.”</em></p><p><em>“Gee, thanks,” </em>Nami said sarcastically, <em>“So, what’s the message?”</em></p><p><em>“I asked Pluto when I got here about our third brother,” </em>Ace started.</p><p><em>“Hold up,” </em>Nami interrupted, <em>“You have another brother?”</em></p><p>Ace smiled whistfully, <em>“Yeah. His name is Sabo. We thought he died back when we were kids, but Pluto says that Sabo isn’t here.”</em></p><p><em>“He isn’t in Elysium?” </em>asked Nami, <em>“Maybe he went for rebirth, or maybe he’s in Asphodel or the Fields of Punishment.”</em></p><p>Ace shot her an angry look, <em>“No, that’s not it. Pluto says that Sabo was never here to begin with. Our brother is still alive.”</em></p><p>Nami woke up in the Sea Forest in Kaimi’s lap with Sanji hovering anxiously over her.</p><p>“Nami-swan!” he cried, throwing himself into her lap, “I’m so glad you’re ok!”</p><p>Nami patted his pretty, blonde head, “There, there.”</p><p>“ARE you ok?” Kaimi asked nervously, “We were escaping then suddenly, you passed out.”</p><p>“Yeah,” she reassured her friends, “I just had a vision is all.”</p><p>“What was it about?”</p><p>“Percy!” Nami beamed and threw herself at the son of Poseidon, only for Luffy to place himself between the two.</p><p>“Luffy?” she asked questioningly, only for Luffy to shake his head firmly. Oh, right. Piper had briefly mentioned once that Percy and Annabeth went through something traumatic on their quest to Greece that changed them a lot. Nami would give Percy his space.</p><p>“It’s so good to see you,” Nami said from a reasonable distance, “But where’s Annabeth? I thought you said she was coming. And the last time I called, Piper said she and some of the others might come too. Where are they?”</p><p>Percy’s face darkened, “We got separated on the way back. Annabeth, Piper, Jason, Frank and Hazel are all missing.”</p><p>“That’s a lot of people, Percy,” said Sanji, “Were you planning on running this recruitment drive past Luffy first?”<br/>Percy had the grace to look sheepish, “I guess I didn’t think about it.”</p><p>A fishman that Nami didn’t recognize clapped Percy on the shoulder, knocking him forward a few inches, “You’re as headstrong as ever, I see.”</p><p>“Who is this?” Nami asked the group, though she already had a vague idea.</p><p>Luffy grinned, “Jinbe!”</p><p>Jinbe held out a webbed hand for Nami, “It’s nice to meet you, Nami. Luffy and Percy have told me much about you.”</p><p>“Have they, now?” Franky rose an eyebrow, “And why do Percy and our captain know a former warlord?”<br/>“Jinbe helped me out a lot when Ace died!” Luffy said eagerly. Everyone looked at Percy.</p><p>“Jinbe found me here after the war,” Percy admitted, “He confirmed Luffy’s message in the newspaper and said he wanted to teach me fishman karate.”</p><p>“And?” asked Chopper, enthralled.</p><p>Jinbe ruffled Percy’s hair. Percy looked put out, but strangely, he allowed Jinbe to touch him.</p><p>“He’s a natural,” Jinbe said proudly, “But Percy’s not the reason I wanted to speak to you, Luffy. I assume you got my message?”</p><p>Luffy blinked, “What message?”</p><p>“No matter,” said Jinbe, “Listen, you can’t fight Hody.”</p><p>“Why not?”</p><p>Nami let out a squeaky eep! For such a large mermaid, princess Shirahoshi had succeeded at blending into the background well enough that Nami hadn’t noticed her.</p><p>“It’s complicated,” said Jinbe, “You see-,”</p><p>“No it isn’t!” Percy interrupted his fishman karate teacher, “But before you explain, you had something you wanted to tell Nami?”</p><p>Jinbe gulped, piquing Nami’s curiosity, “Yes, I owe you a long-overdue apology, Nami. I knew what a terrible threat Arlong was to the East Blue, yet eleven years ago, when he was locked up, I freed Arlong from the World Government.”</p><p>A cold terror eclipsed Nami’s heart.</p><p>“What do you mean?” Nami said cooly.</p><p>“You know, Luffy and I learned about this a long time ago,” said Sanji, “I mean, before I met you, Nami-swan, Yosaku told us what happened. He said that he became a warlord by letting Arlong go. But listen, Jinbe,” Sanji warned, “Choose your next words carefully; our navigator here lost her whole world to Arlong.”</p><p>“He’s right, Jinbe,” Hachi said tearfully, “No amount of apologizing could ever make up for what we did!”<br/><em>Bellmère’s smiling face proudly showing Nami’s map to anyone who’d look at it.</em></p><p>
  <em>“It’s true that the three of us may not be related by blood, but we’re still family. All I’ve ever wanted to be is a mother for those girls. Now I can be.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Nojiko! Nami! I love you!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“It’s my map, you can’t have it!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“If humans want to eat, they have to work.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Get me 100 million berries, and I’ll free your village.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>A shark’s laughter filling her nightmares.</em>
</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Jinbe said genuinely, “You had a truly horrific experience.”</p><p>Before Sanji could say anything, Nami cut him off, “I did. I’ll never forgive Arlong for what he did, but Sabaody Park, built just like Arlong Park, and Kaimi showed me how even the strongest fishmen are persecuted by humans.”<br/>“We just longed to be accepted above the sea,” Hachi said sadly. Percy wouldn’t meet Nami’s eyes.</p><p>“Our jealousy drove us to hurt people like you, gah!” Hachi gasped in pain.</p><p>“Let me help you, Hachi,” said Percy, summoning a circle of glowing healing water.</p><p>“Two people rose up to help bridge the relationship between fishmen and humans,” said Jinbe, “Those two people were Shirahoshi’s mother, Queen Otohime,” (Shirahoshi gasped, tears welling up in her eyes) “and Fisher Tiger, the man that snuck into Marie Jois and freed the slaves. They were two sides of the same coin; one strove to preserve her future so that fishmen would prosper, the other threw his away so that fishmen would prosper…”</p><p>The Strawhats listend intently as Jinbe launched into his story. Neither Shirahoshi nor Percy could look at Jinbe as he told them how Queen Otohime spent her life gathering signatures to allow the residents of Fishman Island the same rights on the surface world as those who dwelled upon it.</p><p>Nami still hated Arlong, but now even she could understand why he had such hatred towards humans.</p><p>A loud thud! accompanied Luffy falling over like a tree.</p><p>“Luffy!” cried Chopper.</p><p>“That dumbass,” Nami said fondly.</p><p>“HE’S ASLEEP!” Sanji roared.</p><p>“I’d expect nothing less,” Percy said proudly, “And Hachi, I’m done now.”</p><p>Hachi got to his feet slowly, stretching his tentacles experimentally, “Thank you, Lord Perseus-,”</p><p>“I’ve told you a million times, it’s Percy,” Percy insisted.</p><p>“Right, right,” Hachi said sheepishly, “I forgot. Thank you, Lord Percy.”</p><p>“THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT!”</p><p>“Anyway,” Nami said loudly, drawing everyone’s attention, “I almost forgot to tell you that Kaimi and I escaped from the Ryugu Palace while looking for Shirahoshi. Zoro, Usopp and Brook are still there with the hostages.”</p><p>“Hostages?” Chopper shrieked.</p><p>“This should be good,” said Dan, utterly fascinated by Franky’s friends.</p><p>Franky sighed, “What did you do now?”</p><p>“I didn’t do anything!” Nami said hotly.</p><p>“Yes you did!” Kaimi said very unhelpfully, “You and the others took Ryugu Palace when the Ministers of the Left and Right tried to arrest you. Then King Neptune sent you on a quest to save Shirahoshi-,”</p><p>Nami rolled her eyes and gestured at the princess, “Quest accomplished, right?”</p><p>Shirahoshi giggled.</p><p>“And we abandoned Brook and Pappagu to go after the princess and maybe get help!” Kaimi concluded.</p><p>Silence.</p><p>“OH YEAH! WE FOUND OUT THAT THE NEW FISHMAN PIRATES ARE INVADING THE PALACE!” Kaimi shrieked.</p><p>Percy looked up sharply, “What?”</p><p>“Not my father,” Shirahoshi cried, “He’s so kind and gentle.”</p><p>“I am sorry, Luffy,” Jinbe said mournfully, “I had hoped that you would’ve received my message in time. Now your friends are facing Hody with no idea of how ruthless he is.”</p><p>Nami saw a look of anguished worry flash across Luffy’s face and in that moment, she knew he was thinking of Zoro. The look was gone as quickly as it arrived.</p><p>“They’ll be ok,” said Luffy with an air of confidence that Nami knew was forced, “Everyone got really strong these past 2 years!”</p><p>“Even Zoro?” Chopper nudged Luffy conspiratorially.</p><p>“Especially Zoro,” Luffy grinned, “He’ll keep Usopp, Brook and weepy-hoshi and Percy’s dad safe!”</p><p>“SHIRAHOSHI-HIME!” Sanji noodled, dancing in circles around the mermaid princess, “IF THE MOSS HEAD IDIOT DOESN’T KEEP YOUR DAD SAFE I WILL KICK HIS BRAINS OUT!”</p><p>“Thanks, Sanji-kun,” Shirahoshi said with a watery smile, finally succeeding in turning Sanji to stone.</p><p>“This is bad,” said Hachi, “Nuu, when I was in the Fishman District, I discovered that Hody has found a way to trap King Neptune.”</p><p>“That’s impossible,” said Nami, “He’s a God.”</p><p>“Gaea captured Hera,” Percy said reluctantly (Percy running his hands erratically up and down his arms did NOT escape Nami’s notice, nor did it escape Chopper’s, based on the look on the reindeer’s face), “Two years ago in an earthy prison. My friends rescued her around the same time we were on Sabaody.”</p><p><em>‘Piper,’ </em>Nami thought happily. She’d kept in contact with her half-sister to the best of her abilities, but dendenmushis didn’t work very well outside the Grand Line, so their phone connection was shaky at best. She remembered Piper saying once that she was coming to the Grand Line to see her, then the line cut out. Nami hadn’t spoken to Piper since.</p><p>“It is possible,” said Jinbe, “With the help of an artifact of the Titan Oceanus.”<br/>“Hold up,” said Sanji, “Titans? What does this have to do with the Gods?”</p><p>“You really should read all of Robin’s book, Sanji,” Chopper chastized his friend, “Kronos, the Titan of Time was the dad of the older Gods, like King Neptune, and he ate them like his dad Uranos did so they wouldn’t kill him. Zeus chopped him up into tiny bits and saved the other elder Gods.”</p><p>“Oceanus was the Titan of the Sea before our father took over,” said Percy, “Poseidon defeated him again during the last Titan War; I guess he didn’t stay away for long.”</p><p>“It’s a shell,” said Hachi, “The Shell of Andromeda; it’s supposed to trap him in a prison of poisonous water.”</p><p>Percy grimaced, “Been there, done that, not fun.”</p><p>“But there’s no way Poseidon or Neptune would ever let that happen to them,” Nami said hastily, “Right?”</p><p>“Not if the New Fishman Pirates got the slip on him,” Percy said grimly, “Here, Neptune’s nowhere near as powerful as he is outside the Four Seas.”</p><p>“He explained it to me once,” Shirahoshi pipped up, “It’s like my father, as I know him, I mean, is an echo of himself. It’s still there, just weaker.”</p><p>“This is really bad,” Sanji echoed Hachi, “We need to get to Ryugu Palace now.”</p><p>At that moment, an orange video transponder snail slithered up to the band of strawhats and their friends, and threw a projection up onto the bubble surrounding the Sea Forest. Staring back at them, was the New Fishman Pirate Captain, Hody Jones, a glowing, pink shell strung on a silver chain around his neck.</p><p><em>“Is this thing working?” </em>said Hody, <em>“Good. Ok, citizens of Fishman Island, lend me your ears.”</em></p><p>“So that’s Hody?” said Franky, “Doesn’t look like much.”</p><p>The camera panned upward to show a sphere of churning, evil-looking water. Next to it, three mermen lay bound and bloody in a pile.</p><p>“Father!” Shirahoshi cried, “Brothers!”</p><p>Percy went pale.</p><p><em>“At noon, we will execute King Neptune and the princes in the square!” </em>Hody announced with an evil grin, <em>“Their deaths will bring about the Great Fishman Era!”</em></p><p>Nami was fairly certain that it was impossible to kill a God. But Hody didn’t need to know that, did he?</p><p>“My brothers are mortal,” Percy hissed, making everyone look at him, “Hody doesn’t know that he can’t kill our dad, but Fukaboshi, Ryuboshi, Mamboshi and Shirahoshi are all mortal.”</p><p>“It’s true,” Shirahoshi sobbed, “Hody can’t kill our father, but he’s gonna kill my brothers!”</p><p>Nami refocused her attention on Hody.</p><p><em>“Humans are weak and pathetic,” </em>said Hody, <em>“They take advantage of your generousity and repay it with blood and chains. Well no more!”</em></p><p><em>“Oh, and this is a message for Strawhat Luffy,” </em>said Hody, <em>“I’ve got a bone to pick with you for what you did to Arlong. You weak, pathetic humans ruined Arlong’s dream.”</em></p><p>“Damn straight,” Sanji snorted.</p><p>The video screen changed to an image of the throne room at the Ryugu Palace. Usopp and Brook sat, bound in chains, in a small cage. Brook was unconscious, while Usopp looked downright furious about something. Hody pressed a button, and holes in the walls opened up, filling the room with water.</p><p><em>“You humans aren’t very good at breathing under water,” </em>Hody said dispassionately<em>, “Despite your best efforts to prove otherwise.”</em></p><p>“Usopp!” Chopper cried, “Brook!”</p><p>The camera panned back to Hody and everyone cried out in alarm, for there, at Hody’s feet, lay Zoro, pale and unmoving.</p><p>Percy cursed, “After all these years, he’s still such a damsel in distress.”</p><p>“Stupid marimo dumbass,” Sanji agreed.</p><p>“Zoro…” Luffy’s bottom lip wobbled, “What did that bastard <em>do </em>to you?”</p><p><em>“Take this one, for example,” </em>Hody said cheerfully, giving Zoro a sharp jab in the side with his steel-toed boot.</p><p>Zoro didn’t move.</p><p><em>“This green one thought he could beat me underwater,” </em>Hody sneered, <em>“I’ll admit, he’s better than most humans, but no mere human can ever match the strength of a fishman in the water!”</em></p><p>Hody bent over and scooped up Zoro, flinging him carelessly over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, <em>“I don’t really care if he’s dead or not. He will be soon enough.”</em></p><p>Nami and the others watched a small wet patch on Hody’s unbuttoned shirt grow larger and larger as sea water trickled wantonly from Zoro’s half-opened mouth.</p><p>Luffy’s eyes were full of unadultered rage, “Put him down, you bastard!”</p><p><em>“Hear this, Strawhat Luffy,” </em>said Hody, <em>“I’ll be waiting for you at Concorde Plaza. I look forward to executing King Neptune while you kneel at Roronoa Zoro’s bloated corpse.”</em></p><p>A deep roar shook forth from the sphere of water behind Hody, then the transmission went blank.</p><p>“Shark!” Luffy barked at Megalo, “Take me to Concorde Plaza!”</p><p>“Luffy,” Jinbe tried to reason with him, but Luffy shrugged him off.</p><p>“Nami, go into the forest and get Robin,” he ordered, “Then, the two of you figure out how to beat this shell thingy to free the old man. Franky and Sanji, go get Usopp and Brook. The rest of us are gonna go save Zoro and Weepy-hoshi and Percy’s family. The rest of you join up when you’ve found the others.”</p><p>Sanji shook out a fresh cigarette, “Dumbass swordsman probably decided he’d finally become one with the seaweed and drowned himself.”</p><p>“I’m with you,” said Shirahoshi, determined, "I want to rescue my father."</p><p>“Shirahoshi,” Percy said seriously, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for you wanting to save dad and the others, but are you sure that’s a good idea for you?”<br/>“He’s right,” said Jinbe, “It’s quite possible that Hody is drawing you out, specifically, princess, for your power to control sea kings.”</p><p>“She can do WHAT?” Nami exploded.</p><p>“Big deal,” said Franky, “Percy can do that too, right?”</p><p>“I can talk to sea kings,” Percy corrected him, “I can’t make them do what I want; Shirahoshi can.”</p><p>“I’m not even sure how I do that,” Shirahoshi tried to protest.</p><p>“He could be looking for you too, Percy,” said Jinbe.</p><p>Percy blinked, stunned that anyone would want him for anything, “Me? What did I do?”</p><p>“Your power is different from Shirahoshi’s, yes,” said Jinbe, “But everyone felt the earthquake that you caused two years ago; Hody would be remiss if he didn’t try to eliminate you as well.”</p><p>Almost as if trying to prove Jinbe’s point, at that moment, an axe came hurtling out of nowhere at Percy’s head.</p><p>“Percy!” Chopper shrieked.</p><p>“It’s ok,” said Franky, “He’s invulnerable, remember?”</p><p>“Not anymore!” Percy yelped, throwing up a water shield to catch the axe, “I lost the Curse of Achilles!”</p><p>“What like you lost your keys?” said Nami, bewildered.</p><p>Luffy charged at the axe and sent it flying back outside the sea floor bubble.</p><p>“Thanks man,” Percy breathed, “Maybe Jinbe has a point.”</p><p>“Then I’ll just do it,” said Luffy, “Shark! Take me to Concorde Plaza!”</p><p>“Just stay out of it, Luffy,” Jinbe snapped, “You can’t fight this battle.”</p><p>“But why?” said Chopper.</p><p>“It’s cuz we’re humans isn’t it?” said Franky.</p><p>“IT HAS LESS MEANING WHEN YOU TWO SAY IT!” Sanji roared.</p><p>“If you defeat Hody, the remaining fishmen will just hate humans more,” said Jinbe, “Percy will become even more of a pariah than he already is. No offense.”</p><p>“None taken,” Percy said flatly, “But my crewmates’ lives are so much more important than my social status, Jinbe.”</p><p>“That’s why you must let me take care of it,” Jinbe said earnestly.</p><p>“Move, Jinbe,” Luffy said in a dangerously quiet voice.</p><p>“Why won’t you honor my request?” asked Jinbe, “For the good of Fishman Island!”<br/>“To hell with the good of Fishman Island!” Luffy snapped, “My friends are in trouble. My friends’ family is in trouble. Zoro-,” Luffy’s voice broke and he hid his face under the brim of his hat, “Zoro is dying, <em>again. </em>I have to go save him. So move, or I will make you move!” he roared.</p><p>“You’re crazy if you think we’re not going to save our crew,” Sanji agreed.</p><p>“Or avenge Hachi,” Percy added.</p><p>“But I’m fine now,” Hachi protested, springing to his feet, “Really, thanks to you, Lord Percy and Chopper, I’m fit as a fiddle!”</p><p>“Jinbe,” said Nami, “I won’t use my charmspeak because I know you’re a good friend of Luffy’s. You even helped him when none of us were able to, so we thank you for that.”</p><p>“Charmspeak,” said Jinbe, “So you’re a demigod too, then?”</p><p>“That’s inconsequential,” Nami waved him off, “Just know that Luffy is the man who will become King of the Pirates. His leadership and purity is something that people covet whenever they meet him. Luffy will heal the rift of Fishman Island, whether he wants to or not. And right now, all he wants to do is save our crew.”</p><p>Jinbe looked at Luffy, Percy, Sanji, Chopper, Franky, Nami and Shirahoshi’s determined faces and sighed.<br/>“I guess I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>ahahahaha! I know Zoro’s way too strong to keep getting in these situations, but they bring me such joy to write, and this one’s practically canon anyway. Until next time!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0036"><h2>36. Chapter 36</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Leo and Percy have a moment</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>
  <em>Leo had a secret.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He carried it with him everywhere, only daring to utter it alone, in the dark in his quarters on the Argo 2.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Leo’s secret was that he was afraid of Percy Jackson.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Leo believed that if one were to think about it, they too would come to this conclusion: Percy Jackson was one scary dude.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>At first, he’d reminded Leo a lot of Jason, wicked strong, reliable and confident, even if a little temperamental.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That had annoyed Leo to no end. In the eight months he’d been at Camp Half-Blood, he’d heard enough about the missing Percy Jackson to write his biography. Seriously, he could even tell you Percy’s favorite color (it was blue).</em>
</p><p>
  <em>After all this hype, Percy Jackson was just a wetter, rougher version of Jason. So no, Leo was not impressed.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But then Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Leo would never stop blaming himself for that; he could’ve done more. He should’ve done more.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But he didn’t, and the two older demigods went through literal hell for his mistake.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>How could he even try being mad at Percy for Calypso?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>So now, Percy scared him even more than before. Before, Leo was scared of his power.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Now, Percy had his immense power and his trauma to act as its trigger.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Everything came to head one night when Leo and Percy were on watch.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Leo had been putting as much distance as possible between himself and Percy when an arai swooped out of the air, plucked Percy off the ship, and started flying away with him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Percy!” Leo shouted, shooting a fireball at the arai. His fireball missed, but it was enough to scare the arai into dropping Percy and flying off into the clouds.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Dude, are you ok?” he rushed over to Percy.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Charging at a demigod that very obviously had PTSD was his first mistake. Percy, crouching low, gave Leo a feral snarl, and pounced on the son of Hephaestus.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Percy!” Leo hated how shrill his voice sounded, but those snapping, razor-sharp teeth were inches away from taking off his nose; Leo could afford to sound a little shrill.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Get it together, Leo,” Leo said to himself (since Percy clearly wasn’t listening), “What’s Percy’s weakness?”<br/>Besides Annabeth, Leo wasn’t sure Percy had any weaknesses; the dude was too strong for his own good.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>A rope of water snaked around Leo’s throat and squeezed. Leo flailed madly, but Percy held fast, his water noose growing even tighter around Leo’s neck.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But what was the opposite of water?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Fire,” Leo gasped, and allowed himself to spontaneously combust.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Percy flew backwards and Leo scrambled to his feet, gasping for air from his newly-liberated neck.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Percy?” Leo asked hesitantly, unwilling to get any closer to the shaking, sobbing mass slumped against the mast, “Sh-should I go get Annabeth?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Annabeth usually seemed to calm Percy down, just as Percy was the only one who could calm Annabeth down when she had a nightmare.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Percy’s head shot up hard enough to hit the mast with a loud ‘THUNK!’</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Leo winced, “Ouch.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Leo,” Percy looked at him with sea-green eyes filled with terror, “Oh, Gods. I-I blacked out again, didn’t I?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Leo bravely took a step closer, “Yeah, but you’re here now, right?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Percy gulped, “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Leo grimaced. “Nah,” he lied, “I’m ok.”<br/>Percy’s watery eyes narrowed, “You don’t sound ok.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Before Leo could protest, Percy had covered the distance between them.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I did this,” the son of Poseidon said in an unbelievably small voice, “Didn’t I?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I turned out ok,” Leo tried to reassure him (though backing up as slowly as possible from Percy probably wasn’t very reassuring), “Besides, it looks like I burned your arms.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Percy looked numbly at the first degree burns littering his forearms, “Oh, right.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You healed Jason before, right?” said Leo, “All those times he got concussions. Healing’s a Poseidon thing?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Yeah,” said Percy. He wouldn’t meet Leo’s eyes.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Do you need some water to heal those burns?” asked Leo, “And those claw marks on your shoulders look nasty. We could go over to the railing, if you want.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>For the first time that night, Percy managed a small smile, “Nah, I can reach from here.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Leo watched, (reluctantly in awe) as a small stream of water floated from the sea, up to the deck, and to Percy’s hands. Percy grit his teeth as the water circled up his arms and shoulders, glowing with a calming, blue light.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Holy Hephaestus,” Leo whistled, “That’s a pretty cool power to have.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“It takes a lot of concentration to heal myself,” said Percy, “I was working on it before Hera-well, you know.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Yeah,” Leo said raspily. Damn, his throat did hurt a lot. Not that he’d ever tell Percy that though.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“C-can I heal your throat?” Percy asked nervously.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Leo blinked in amazement. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I promise I’m not terrible at healing!” he said hastily, thrusting out his arms, “Look!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Leo did look. Sure enough, the burns running up and down his arms, and the puncture marks on his shoulders were completely gone.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I-I understand if you don’t want me to do it,” said Percy, refusing to meet Leo’s eyes, “My power let me hurt you.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Leo put a rough, calloused hand on top of Percy’s thin, boney one, “Then let it heal me too.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Percy’s water on his neck this time around was a strange sensation. Instead of choking the life out of him, it made Leo think of an old memory from when he was little and his mom took him to the beach. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Percy’s hands fell away and Leo realized he’d been crying, “Leo, man, fuck, I’m so sorry.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Percy choked back a sob, “I’m so, so sorry.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Leo touched his neck, realizing, in wonder, that the pain and the bruising were both gone.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Look,” said Leo, “It’s almost time for Piper and Frank’s shift, and I’m guessing neither of us really wanna sleep right now.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>A look from Percy told Leo he was right, “So let’s go to the mess hall. I bet I can eat more blue pancakes than you!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Percy offered him a small, tentative smile, “Yeah, ok. Thanks, Leo.”</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0037"><h2>37. Chapter 37</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Shirahoshi gets captured</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Zoro was growing very tired of Fishman Island.</p><p>First they’d gone through so much effort just to get to the damn place, then they all got separated immediately. Then Zoro got arrested.</p><p>That wasn’t so bad. He was perfectly capable of getting out himself, but he decided that allowing Percy to spring him from the joint was a good conservation of energy.</p><p>Then he got to fight, and it was glorious. It had been absolutely ages since he’d gotten to cut anything. Hody wasn’t so tough; Zoro took him out, no problem.</p><p>But then Hody took some crazy steroid thing and the palace flooded and Zoro drowned.</p><p>Probably not in that order though. Zoro wasn’t really paying attention; he was too busy drowning.</p><p>Now Zoro had no idea where he was (<strike>story of his life</strike>) or if he was even fully conscious. Every shallow breath he took sent fire coursing through his lungs. His head felt like a lead balloon, slowly expanding until eventually, it would pop.</p><p>A yellowish tinge highlighted dark shapes moving just beyond his blurry field of vision.</p><p><em>“Is the human awake?” </em>one of the shapes asked another.</p><p>Pain flared in Zoro’s side.</p><p><em>“Barely,” </em>another shape decided, <em>“Captain Hody, Roronoa’s still alive.”</em></p><p><em>“Leave him,” </em>said a third shape, <em>“He won’t stay alive for long.”</em></p><p><em>“You have to let me help him!” </em>another shape begged, <em>“He’s swallowed too much water; he will die without my help!”</em></p><p><em>“Prince Fukaboshi,” </em>the third shape said sharply, <em>“You are in no position to bargain.”</em></p><p>
  <em>“Father! Brothers!”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Zoro!”</em>
</p><p>Zoro wanted nothing more than to help his friends, reach up and stab Hody senseless. But damn, he was so <em>tired. </em>He hadn’t felt this tired since Thriller Bark…</p><p>He’d rest a moment, then he’d help Luffy.</p><p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>Percy was fed up with Hody Jones.</p><p>The plan was going well untill Shirahoshi just <em>had </em>to spring a trap and get all of them captured. Now, sitting bound in iron chains next to his fishman karate teacher, his sister and her pet shark, Percy was pretty pissed.</p><p>“Shirahoshi-hime,” said Hody, “little Prince, Jinbe, looks like the whole party is here.”</p><p>“Let them go, Hody,” Percy said evenly, “You can’t be stupid enough to not know that you can’t kill our father; your Great Fishman Era is a fool’s dream.”</p><p>A look of fury flashed across Hody’s face, “Half-blood. How dare you speak to me that way?”</p><p>Percy took one look at his father, doing his best to pretend he couldn’t see Percy so that he could maintain his giant form, his brothers hung on execution crosses, and Zoro, white and barely breathing at Hody’s feet, and Percy’s anger shot past its boiling point.</p><p>“No!” Percy shouted, “How dare you speak to ME that way?”</p><p>Hody took a step back. Good; he should fear Percy; no one on that island understood what Percy was truly capable of.</p><p>The sea floor shook under Percy’s chained feet, but he didn’t care, “My father has to pretend he doesn’t know me, just to keep up appearances here,” he snapped, “My sister has been locked in a tower for 10 years thanks to your little follower. My brothers spend their whole lives trying to live up to their mother’s vision, and you stomp on it like it means nothing.”</p><p>The earth gave another, violent roll, “You beat them up and drowned my friend. And my girlfriend is missing somewhere on this fucked up sea, so I. don’t. have. time. for. YOU!”</p><p>“Percy-nii!” Shirahoshi cried, “Stop it!”</p><p>The red tinge to the edges of Percy’s vision dissipated, along with the beginnings of an earthquake.</p><p>Though he would never admit to it aloud, Percy could see vestiges of fear on Hody’s face, “Prince Perseus Jackson; I was right to want you dead. The power of the earthshaker…”<br/>Hody gave Percy an evil smile, “Why don’t you join us? You’ll make a nice slave, and with your powers, we’d never need to leave the sea to hurt humans.”</p><p>“Oh, go jump in a volcano,” Percy bit, “You killed my siblings’ mom.”<br/>“Who told you that?” Hody said furiously, “I was about to say that.”</p><p>“I did,” said Shirahoshi.</p><p>“Shirahoshi…” Jinbe said in wonder.</p><p>“Megalo saw the whole thing that day,” Shirahoshi said in a small voice, “He told me a few years later. Percy’s the only one I’ve ever told.”</p><p>“But why, Shirahoshi?” Fukaboshi cried, “She wasn’t Percy’s mother!”<br/>“That’s the point!” Shirahoshi cried, “I had to tell someone, and Percy never met mom, so he can’t be biased! Mom never wanted us to hate her killer, remember? I didn’t want Hody to become a symbol of hatred!”</p><p>Percy bit his lip. He knew all of this already, of course, but the looks on the brothers that he’d grown quite fond of were heartbreaking, to say the least. Neptune still wouldn’t meet his eyes.</p><p>“Well then, now that we’re all here and informed,” said Hody, “Someone get me a sword; the Royal family should be executed by beheading.”</p><p>Hody pulled a long, iron sword into the air, “I think I’ll start with Fukaboshi here.”</p><p>“NO!” Shirahoshi screamed as the sword swung down.</p><p>“Fukaboshi!” Percy shouted.</p><p>Just then, a pink, rubber bullet shot out of Megalo’s mouth and struck Hody squarely in the chest, sending him flying backwards several miles.</p><p>“Luffy-sama!” Shirahoshi cried.</p><p>Next, with a twirl of her Climatact, Nami and Chopper appeared out of thin air next to Zoro. While Chopper began frantic CPR on Zoro, Nami clapped Luffy on the back.</p><p>“Well, we planned for Luffy to get impatient,” she said fondly, “So, we’re here!”</p><p>“Look, in the distance!”</p><p>Percy, Jinbe and Shirahoshi craned their necks backwards to see the Thousand Sunny floating towards them, pulled by a bubble, ready for war. Neptune’s pet whale led them into battle.</p><p><em>“Hell yeah, I brought reinforcements!” </em>the whale screeched.</p><p>“Strawhat Luffy! Are you really going to destroy the island?”</p><p>“Is the bastard prince really part of your crew?”</p><p>“Did you really kidnap the princess?”</p><p>“Zoro!” Luffy flung himself at his swordsman, completely ignoring the shouts from the townsfolk lined around the plaza.</p><p>“He’s not breathing!” Chopper cried.</p><p>“Bring him to me!” Percy ordered, “I can fix that!”<br/>“No need,” said Nami, “Along with the sheet from the Celestial Dragons, and the shell of Andromeda, we stole the key.”</p><p>Percy felt an arm grow out of his back (weirdest fucking feeling ever) and unlock his chains. Wasting no time, Percy threw himself at Zoro’s side and tapped his chest. At once, water bubbled forth like a spring from Zoro’s open mouth, and he coughed violently.</p><p>Luffy slung Zoro’s arm over his shoulder and half walked, half dragged him back to where the rest of the Strawhats were disbarking the Sunny, Nami, Chopper and Percy trailing behind them.</p><p>“Hey, you’re ok,” Percy heard Luffy murmur gently in Zoro’s ear, “Because if you’re not, I’ll kick your ass myself.”</p><p>“ ’Sup, Seaweed Brain?” Sanji called cheerfully, “Back with the land of the living, are you?”</p><p>Percy pushed down a wave of anger; Sanji didn’t know any better.</p><p>“Shut up,” Zoro said intelligently in between coughs, “You try fighting an army of fishmen underwater.”<br/>Nami smacked him lightly on the head, “From what I understand, you did that to yourself, smartass.”</p><p>Percy had an ugly flashback to a black, bubbly bog in the Alaskan wilderness. Percy had the unique distinction of being a son of Poseidon that knew what it felt like to drown; there was no way Zoro should be on his feet at all right now.</p><p>“Can you fight?” Luffy asked him softly.</p><p>“I need to examine his lungs first!” Chopper insisted, “He could have permanent breathing problems now!”</p><p>Staggering a little bit, Zoro pushed off Luffy and wrapped his green bandana around his head, “I’ll breathe on the weekend.”</p><p>Satisfied, Percy looked out at the army of 100,000 fishmen waiting to tear them to bits.</p><p>“11 vs 100,000,” said Sanji, “Not great odds.”</p><p>“We’ll just have to take 10,000 each,” Percy said jokingly, “And not leave any for Zoro.”</p><p>“Hey!” Zoro said hotly before breaking out in a coughing fit.</p><p>Luffy pushed Sanji and Percy aside, carefully sidestepping around Zoro.</p><p>“Oi, Luffy,” said Sanji.</p><p>Percy felt a blast of willpower that, if Jinbe hadn’t instructed him in haki, would certainly have made him sweat. The Strawhats watched as half of the 100,000 fishmen army collapsed, frothing at the mouths.</p><p>“So that’s the Conqueror’s Haki,” said Robin.</p><p>“Yohohoho!” cried Brook, “Impressive, Luffy-san!”</p><p>“I’d expect nothing less from our captain,” Zoro rasped.</p><p>Robin pulled a glowing pink shell out of her pocket and smashed it against the ground. The churning prison around Neptune fell to the ground, leaving a regular-sized Poseidon behind.</p><p>“Dad!” said Percy, “What are you doing here?”</p><p>“You know I can’t stay away when you’re here,” Poseidon said fondly, “Nor can I interfere in mortal matters. Go, fight. I will observe and keep your brothers and sister safe.”</p><p>“You heard Lord Poseidon,” said Nami, slamming her Climatact into the ground.</p><p>Percy stuck his hand above his head and pulled his seastone sword out of the water in the air.</p><p>“It’s our turn,” he said eagerly.</p><p>“CHARGE!” Luffy cried.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0038"><h2>38. Chapter 38</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which the Strawhats bash some heads</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Zoro decided, while cutting down as many fishmen as he could see, that fighting while you could barely breathe was kind of like a new training exercise. In his mind, he was already plotting what training exercises he could try while holding his breath.</p><p>Chopper was going to have a field day.</p><p>“Let’s get the green one!”</p><p>“Yeah! He’s got to be weak after drowning!”</p><p>Weak, was he? Zoro would show them. He did not train under his rival for two years just for some nobodies to call him weak.</p><p><em>Santoryu Black Rope Dragon Twister!<br/></em>Zoro’s attack summoned a twister that plowed through a large swath of fishmen, flinging them in the air and cutting them as easily as if they were paper.</p><p>“It’s still going!”</p><p>“How long will it last?”</p><p>Zoro took Wado out of his mouth and, with no small degree of satisfaction, answered the fishmen.</p><p>“It’ll chase you to the depths of hell.”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>An enourmous fishman with arms the size of Usopp’s head was descending on Zoro.</p><p>Usopp didn’t train for two years in the use of pop greens just to let his friends get hurt again.</p><p><em>Green Star: Bamboo Javelin-Grove!<br/></em>Stalks of bamboo sprung from the sea floor, impaling all of Usopp’s targets. Zoro turned and shot him a wild look of delight.</p><p>“Nice going, Usopp,” Zoro said breathily before lunging back into the fray.</p><p>Usopp grinned and ran back to Franky. He knew that Zoro was the one back on Water 7 that insisted that Usopp had to apologize to rejoin the crew. Usopp was glad that finally, he was able to prove to Zoro that he desrved that second chance.</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>“Get her!”</p><p>“She stole the letter from the Celestial Dragons!”</p><p>Nami sighed, “You know, you aren’t nearly as scary as you think you are.”</p><p>The fishmen surrounding her stumbled, taken aback, “What?”</p><p>Nami had faced giants, telekhines, gorgons, and even Mother Earth herself; a couple of fishmen weren’t enough to scare her anymore.</p><p>“Can you hold still for me?” Nami sweetly asked her enemies.</p><p>“Anything for you, pretty lady!” the fishmen cheered.</p><p><em>Thunder Breed Tempo!<br/></em>“Thank you!” she said as she gracefully sidestepped her char-broiled opponents.</p><p>“NAMI-SWAN! WATCH OUT!”</p><p>Nami spun to face a fishman with a huge sword and roared with all of her might, “FALL ON YOUR SWORD!”</p><p>Without a word, the fishman stopped and impaled himself before collapsing in a heap at Nami’s feet.</p><p>“Nice job, Nami!” called Percy, too busy wreaking havoc to join her.</p><p>“NAMI-SWAN!” Sanji noodled, “YOUR POWER IS SO HOT!”</p><p>A warm feeling settled in Nami’s toes. She could just hear her birth mother whispering in her ear.</p><p>
  <em>“He’s cute, honey, and he cooks! As the mortals say, you have to get while the getting’s good!”</em>
</p><p>“Shut up, mom!” Nami said loudly, hoping that Aphrodite heard her, before flouncing off to find more fishmen to zap to a crisp.</p><p>(But really, who could disagree with the love goddess?)</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>“Idiots!” Hody shouted, “Get the princess!”</p><p>Shirahoshi gasped at the wave of fishmen carrying cannons, “G-go away!”</p><p>“Shirahoshi!” Percy cried, “Damn it, someone help her!”</p><p>“YOU GOT IT!” Sanji hollered, but Brook was faster.</p><p>“Lady Hecate,” said Brook, readying his violin, “This one’s for you.”</p><p>With his violin, Brook coated all the fishmen in his range in a fine blanket of Mist. He played a cheerful, festive tune, allowing the fishmen to fill the blanks in Brook’s imagination (though there were few to begin with).</p><p>“And now, the fireworks!” Brook cried.</p><p>“What’s going on?” Hody barked, “Stop that, at once!”</p><p>“But we can’t,” whined a fishman enraptured by Brook’s spell, “We’re busy enjoying the festival!”</p><p>Brook hummed a mournful song as the fishmen fired their mortars into the sky, “It’s a shame, really.”<br/>“Get the skeleton!” Hody ordered.</p><p>“Yeah, he can’t be so tough!” cheered another fishman.</p><p>“Hmm bone bone bone bone,” Brook chanted.</p><p>“GAAAH!”</p><p>“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?”</p><p>The other Strawhats looked over and even Percy and Nami blanched at the sight of Brook, so complete was his control over the Mist. Brook was no longer a tall, gangly skeleton, in his place, an otherworldly 12 foot-tall spector with skeletal claws, snakes for hair and glowing red eyes, rose from the Mist. The spector let out an unholy shriek and slashed down the terrified fishmen, all while the same mournful tune filled the air.</p><p>“Lookin scary there, Brook,” said Nami.</p><p>“Yohohoho!” the spectre cackled.</p><p>“I think I just shit my pants,” Usopp whimpered.</p><p>Brook, being a kind and supportive friend, went back to fight with Usopp while his Mist creation went on scaring and slashing fishmen half to death.</p><p>“Waaaah!” Chopper cried, “Brook, that was scary!”</p><p>“It isn’t me, Chopper-san,” Brook said gently, “It’s the Mist and my overactive imagination.”</p><p>Brook would have to thank Lady Hecate the next time he saw her; she’d taught him how to turn his greatest fears into weapons.</p><p>“Incoming!”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>As a horde of fishmen charged straight for him and Brook, Chopper threw himself to the side, straight into the arms of several enemies.</p><p>“Look! We caught the little one!”</p><p><em>Kung-Fu Point!<br/></em>“Ouch!”</p><p>“Gah!”</p><p>“Hwaaachooo!” Chopper gave his battle cry (that he absolutely had NOT spent two years perfecting in the mirror, thank you very much), and smashed through the ribcage on a makrel fishman.</p><p>“Bring it on!” Chopper roared, “I’ll take down all of you!”</p><p>After all, what else are monsters for, but to help their friends?</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>“What are you looking at, lady?”</p><p>Robin’s nose scrunched up in distaste, “You know, there’s a lot of archeological history here.”</p><p>
  <em>Trenta Fleur!</em>
</p><p>“And your rampaging is hurting it,” she informed them.</p><p>
  <em>Clutch!</em>
</p><p>“This is boring,” Robin smirked, “Bring me an opponent worth my time.”</p><p>“Oi, Robin!”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>
  <em>Radical Beam!</em>
</p><p>“Check it out!” Franky called to his favorite Strawhat from the hatch of his Iron General.</p><p>Robin had on that same gentle smile that made Franky’s head go fuzzy, “What an amazing feat of engineering!”</p><p>Franky lowered his Iron General’s hand to the ground, “What’s say you and I go look for some opponents worthy of your time?”</p><p>Robin giggled and Franky’s heart soared. Climbing aboard, she perched on the Iron General’s shoulder, planting a gentle kiss on it’s iron cheek.</p><p>“That sounds like a wonderful idea.”</p><p>“OW!”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>“It’s the spike crew!”</p><p>Sanji ran away from those hellish okama for two years.</p><p>“GAH!”</p><p>“Look! They stabbed themselves!”</p><p>“Where’d the blonde one go?”</p><p>Until eventually, he escaped into the clouds.</p><p>
  <em>Sky Walk!</em>
</p><p>“Sanji’s in the air!” Luffy said in awe, “Just like those guys from before!”</p><p>“Skywalk,” Robin mused while snapping necks from atop the Iron General, “…not Moonwalk?”</p><p>Percy turned an ugly shade of green and rolled under a tall fishman’s legs, “So high…I think I’m gonna be sick…”</p><p>“Oi!” Sanji said confidently, planting himself in between Shirahoshi and an incoming crew of flying mermen, “If you’ve got something to say to the Princess…”</p><p>he turned and flashed Shirahoshi a loving thumbs up, “You can say it to me first!”</p><p>“Sanjichin-sama!” Shirahoshi gasped in amazement and gratitude.</p><p>“Charge!” one of the mermen cried feebly.</p><p>
  <em>Diable jambe!</em>
</p><p>Flames danced up Sanji’s leg as he aimed and fired.</p><p><em>Poele à frire: spectre shot!<br/></em>the air bellow him erupted in a rainbow haze as merman after merman fell to the ground.</p><p>“NAMI-SWAN! DID YOU SEE HOW COOL I AM?”</p><p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>“Dumbass,” Percy said fondly, before remembering something.</p><p>Slashing down all who dared get in his way, he charged up to Shirahoshi, “Hey!”</p><p>“Hi, Percy-nii!” Shirahoshi said cheerfully.</p><p>Percy gestured wildly around them, “You plan on helping, anytime soon?”</p><p>Shirahoshi looked self-consciously at her hands, “I told you, I don’t know how to do that thing.”</p><p>Percy sighed before summoning a horde of geysers to blast 50 fishmen and merfolk out into the deep sea, “THEN WHY THE HADES ARE YOU STILL HERE!”</p><p>Shirahoshi flinched, the ever-familiar tears welling up in her big, blue eyes, “Percy-nii, don’t yell at me!”</p><p>Percy deflected an assault of stray bullets heading for his sister before scrambling up onto her tail, “I’LL YELL AT YOU IF I DAMN WELL WANT TO! WE’RE IN A WAR ZONE, SHIRAHOSHI, AND YOU’RE JUST SITTING THERE! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW BIG YOU ARE? OR HOW MUCH ENERGY WE’RE SPENDING DEFENDING YOU? WHY DIDN’T YOU GET TO SAFETY WITH DAD? DID YOU REALLY LEARN NO LIFE-SKILLS IN THAT TOWER? GODS!”</p><p>“PERCY I’M GONNA SKIN YOU ALIVE FOR TALKING TO SHIRAHOSHI THAT WAY!” Sanji roared, charging straight at the son of Poseidon.</p><p>“STAY OUT OF IT, SANJI!” Percy hollered, pushing Sanji away with a blob of water Percy had formed into a boxing glove.</p><p>“I’M TELLING FATHER YOU YELLED AT ME!” Shirahoshi yelled at Percy.</p><p>“GOOD! SOMEONE NEEDS TO KNOW YOU CAN TAKE IT!” Percy yelled back, “NOW ARE YOU GONNA HELP OR NOT?”</p><p>“I CAN’T!” Shirahoshi screamed.</p><p>Percy took a step back, almost falling off Shirahoshi’s slippery tail in the process. That seemed to have done the trick; Percy could feel at least six sea kings making their way from the Deep Sea to Fishman Island.</p><p>Looking to where Luffy and Hody were fighting, making their way to Noah, Percy just hoped that the sea kings weren’t going to be too late.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0039"><h2>39. Chapter 39</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Luffy and Hody face off.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>“What the hell is that?”</p><p>“Look! Up in the sky!”</p><p>A dark shadow descended over Concorde Plaza.</p><p>“Percy, what the Hades is that thing?” Nami shouted.</p><p>Percy gulped, “That, uh, that’s Noah.”</p><p>“And why the hell is it coming straight at us?” shouted Franky.</p><p>Percy hopped off Shirahoshi’s tail and took five large steps to the right, watching in horror as the ship adjusted ever so slightly to the right.</p><p>“Well,” he tried for a light tone, “I think it’s heading for me.”</p><p>“WHAT?”</p><p>“Look! Up in the sky!”</p><p>“What now?” grumbled Sanji.</p><p>A large, pink, screaming mass fell from Noah, landing on at least twenty fishmen, “Waaah! Vander Decken-sama, I fell off! Don’t leave me here to die!”</p><p>“PERSEUS JACKSON!”</p><p>Percy cringed. If that was who he thought it was…</p><p>Sure enough, standing at the prow of the Noah, was Vander Decken.</p><p>“You ruined my dream of marrying Shirahoshi!” he cried, “So now you, Shirahoshi and all of Fishman Island get to die, and it’s all going to be your fault!”</p><p>“Leave him alone, yellow baka!” shouted Usopp.</p><p>“Percy, run!” shouted Nami.</p><p>“Go! Escape into the sea!” said Robin, crossing her arms, “We can hold it off!”</p><p>Percy gulped. Why couldn’t his life ever be simple? Even now, he could hear the shouts of the townsfolk all around them, probably blaming him once more for their misfortune.</p><p>But still, he couldn’t allow one of his father’s kingdoms to perish on his account.</p><p>He looked up at his sister, “Will you help me?”</p><p>Shirahoshi, brave, sweet Shirahoshi, got the message, “Of course I will!”</p><p>Shirahoshi scooped up Percy in her arms and shot into the sky, flying away from Noah.</p><p>“You don’t get it!” Percy heard Chopper shouting at Robin, “Vander Decken ate the Mark Mark Fruit, and Percy traded himself for Shirahoshi! Percy is his new mark; that ship’s gonna follow him wherever he goes!”</p><p>“The youngest of the Royal Family are sacrificing themselves by changing the trajectory of Noah!” cried Jinbe, “Shirahoshi, Percy, don’t!”</p><p>“I always knew you were mean, Vander Decken!” cried Shirahoshi, “But killing everyone crosses too many lines!”</p><p>“We won’t let you destroy this kingdom!” shouted Percy.</p><p>“We’ll protect it with our lives!” shouted Shirahoshi.</p><p>“So come get us, you monster!” they shouted in unison.</p><p>All around them, the Strawhats could hear the townsfolk shouting in protest.</p><p>“No, Princess!”</p><p>“Princess Shriahoshi!”</p><p>But now, they were shouting for Percy too.</p><p>“Prince Perseus, save yourself!”</p><p>“Leave the Prince and Princess alone!”</p><p>“He’s changing their hearts,” Chopper said in amazement.</p><p>“What do you mean, Chopper?” asked Usopp.</p><p>“Percy is half-human, half god; no one on this island accepted him,” said Chopper, never taking his eyes off Percy and Shirahoshi, “But now, with Shirahoshi’s help, Percy’s proving that he’s worthy of their respect and admiration.”</p><p>“And he isn’t even doing it on purpose,” Sanji added.</p><p>“That idiot,” Nami chuckled, “As if we wouldn’t beat up anyone who didn’t accept him anyway.”</p><p>“Look! It’s changing direction!”</p><p>“But it’s still heading straight for the Prince and Princess!”</p><p>“There has to be something we can do,” Sanji said desperately.</p><p>“That’s what I get for teaming up with a madman,” Hody said despondently, “I won’t stand for this, Vander Decken.”</p><p>“This is so unfair!” said Vander Decken, “As I always suspected, you are the perfect woman to become Mrs. Vander Decken IX, but you insist on rejecting me, so you and your brother can both be rejected to history. Die!”</p><p>And he threw a sword straight at Shirahoshi, only for Percy to deflect it, “Leave her alone, asshole! I’m your target now!”</p><p>“Percy, we have to get farther away,” Shirahoshi urged.</p><p>“Go!” said Percy, and the Prince and Princess sped off.</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>“Damnit, Weepy-Hoshi,” Luffy cursed, “I told you to stay where I could protect you.”</p><p>Sanji skipped off into the sky, straight at Noah, “Damn you, you’ll pay for hurting the Princess!”</p><p>“Hold up, Sanji,” said Luffy, “Let me get them!”</p><p>“Are you sure?” said Sanji, hopping up and down to stay airborne, “That’s water.”</p><p>“It’s in a bubble,” Luffy insisted, “So I should be ok. You and the others, secure the Plaza.”</p><p>“Luffy, take this bubbly coral,” said Jinbe, tossing the Strawhat Captain a small, pink piece of coral, “It’ll help.”</p><p>“Good thinking!” said Luffy, stretching his arms to hook onto Sanji’s leg.</p><p>
  <em>Gum-Gum Rocket!</em>
</p><p>“I can’t believe I’m letting you save the girl!” Sanji complained while falling back to the ground, “Just bring them back safe, Luffy! We’re counting on you!”<br/>“I got it!” Luffy shouted, “Be back soon!”</p><p>With the help of Sanji’s kick, Luffy rocketed himself onto the Noah.</p><p>“Luffy!”</p><p>“Hiya Percy!” said Luffy, “Keep going! You’re doing great!”</p><p>“Aye Aye, Captain!” Percy saluted from his spot in Shirahoshi’s arms, “You heard the man, Shirahoshi.”</p><p>“Right!” said Shirahoshi, flicking her tail to swim even faster, “Wait, what’s that?”</p><p>Luffy watched as dozens of mermen swam up to try and stop the Noah.</p><p>“Maybe we can make it go a little slower!”</p><p>“The Prince and Princess shouldn’t have to die for this!”</p><p>“Swim faster, Shirahoshi-hime! Run away!”</p><p>“My people!” Shirahoshi cried.</p><p>“Hody, leave them alone,” shouted Luffy.</p><p>“Shirahoshi, the gateway to the palace should still be open,” Percy said seriously, “We can escape through there!”</p><p>“Right!” said Shirahoshi, and with another flick of her tail, Shirahoshi and Percy disappeared into the water.</p><p>“Ah!” Luffy activated his bubbly coral, “How do I steer this thing?”</p><p>“Pathetic human.”</p><p>Luffy snarled at Hody, “Shut up and fight me!”</p><p>“If you insist.”</p><p>
  <em>Shark Arrows</em>
</p><p>Luffy knew he was in trouble when his bubble popped. He could vaguely hear Hody saying something, but drowning was really far more important to Luffy than whatever that asshole had to say.</p><p>But then, there was air, and he could breathe.</p><p>“Are you alright? Breathe, Luffy!”</p><p>Luffy saw that he was in the arms of one of Percy’s brothers, speeding away from Hody.</p><p>“Stop!” Luffy coughed, “I have to fight him!”</p><p>“You can’t do that here,” insisted the Prince, “Let’s get to the Noah; you can fight in that bubble.”</p><p>“Ok,” said Luffy, “Lead the way.”</p><p>…Meanwhile…</p><p>“How does freedom feel, Shirahoshi-hime?” cackled Vander Decken.</p><p>“What’s this idiot going on about,” grumbled Percy.</p><p>“Now that your brother has so selflessly sacrificed himself for you, I can pierce him like a pin cushion!” Vander Decken howled, holding up six daggers, “This can all be avoided if you say that one little word, though!”</p><p>“I’m sorry Sir Decken, but you’re still not my type!” Shirahoshi shrieked.</p><p>“Fuck yeah! You tell him, sis!” Percy cheered.</p><p>“Then die!” Vander Decken wailed, throwing his daggers.</p><p>Shirahoshi gasped and curled further around Percy, trying to shield him.</p><p>“Shirahoshi no!” said Percy, alarmed, “You’ll get hurt!”</p><p>“Like you said,” said Shirahoshi, “I’m bigger than you; it’ll take more to hurt me!”</p><p>“That’s not how that-,”</p><p>Percy was cut off mid-sentence as Ryuboshi and Mamboshi dropped in front of them, accompanied by their father’s whale, and deflected all the daggers.</p><p>“You came!” said Shirahoshi, relieved.</p><p>“You need to learn how to treat a lady properly,” said Mamboshi, “Or anyone, for that matter!”</p><p>“Percy and Shirahoshi are our baby brother and sister!” Ryuboshi said proudly, “Anyone who lays a finger on them has to answer to us!”</p><p>“Brothers!” Shirahoshi cheered.</p><p>“I’m not a baby…” Percy pouted, “It’s not my fault humans are so small compared to you.”</p><p>“OH!” said Vander Decken, “Hello, other brothers in law!”</p><p>“WE ARE NOT YOUR FAMILY!” snapped Ryuboshi, Mamboshi and Percy.</p><p>“You saved me!” Shirahoshi sobbed, “Thank you!”</p><p>“Stop crying!” said Mamboshi.</p><p>“Please don’t get mad at me!” Shirahoshi wailed.</p><p>“SHIRAHOSHI!” Percy scolded, “We don’t have time for this.”</p><p>“Baby brother is right Mi-Fa-So,” said Ryuboshi, reveling in the annoyed look Percy’s new nickname inspired, “Father said no harm can come to the Noah So-Ti-La!”</p><p>“Shakey Shakey! Shirahoshi, you’re a lot faster than Percy, so we need you to carry him and swim lower so we can lower the Noah to the ground without hitting anything!” shouted Mamboshi.</p><p>“But there are so many obstacles,” Shirahoshi protested.</p><p>“I need your help, Shirahoshi,” Percy pleaded, “I can’t do it without you. Your people are counting on you; think of the ones who just sacrificed themselves for us! We can’t let them down!”</p><p>Shirahoshi looked like she wanted to cry, but she nodded, determined, “Let’s go up! The path is clearer that way!”</p><p>And before Ryuboshi or Mamboshi could protest, she shot towards the surface, the Noah hot on her trail.</p><p>…Back to Luffy…</p><p>“Thanks for your help!” Luffy grinned, “But you got hurt pretty badly there, are you ok?”</p><p>“My people and my sister and brother are working hard to keep this kingdom safe,” said Prince Fukaboshi, “I don’t have time to sit back and lick my wounds.”</p><p>
  <em>Shark Slicer!</em>
</p><p>“Merfolk are supposed to be the fastest swimmers in the world,” said Hody, “But with my new powers, I can swim circles around you!”</p><p>“Let’s not get hit by that,” said Luffy, “He’s cutting stuff like Zoro!”</p><p>“There’s time for admiration later,” said Fukaboshi, “Let’s go!”</p><p>And they rocketed towards the ship.</p><p>“So this is the favor you wanted earlier…” said Fukaboshi.</p><p>“Yeah,” said Luffy, “I’m about ready to kick Hody and the throwy guy’s ass. Plus, I promised Percy and Weepy-Hoshi that I’d keep Weepy-Hoshi safe.”</p><p>“Good,” said Fukaboshi, “I made the same promise to our mother. I am glad we are of the same mind.”</p><p>“Let’s head to the deck!” said Luffy.</p><p>…meanwhile…</p><p>“Bahoho!” said Vander Decken, “If it isn’t Hody Jones. I am using the Noah to torture Shirahoshi as we speak! What do you think of that idea?”<br/>“It’s not bad,” Hody mused, “But I have a better idea.”</p><p>And he stabbed Vander Decken through the heart, “If you die, what will become of this ship?”</p><p>Hody looked up at Shirahoshi, swimming towards the surface with her brothers around her, “I am a kind man; I’ll let your true love join you in the Underworld.”</p><p>And he rocketed up towards Shirahoshi.</p><p>Mamboshi and Ryuboshi tried to shield Shirahoshi and Percy, but Hody cut them down easily.</p><p>“Run, Shirahoshi!” Ryuboshi shouted.</p><p>“Get out of here!” shouted Mamboshi.</p><p>Percy slipped out of Shirahoshi’s arms and threw his arms out in front of her, shielding her from harm.</p><p>Because his girlfriend was missing (she might even be dead) so what did he have to live for? The least he could do was make sure his sister lived to see tomorrow.</p><p>“A noble sacrifice,” said Hody, aiming his trident.</p><p>“Percy!” screamed Ryuboshi and Mamboshi.</p><p>“Percy-nii!” screamed Shirahoshi.</p><p>It hurt when Hody’s trident ran him through, but Percy still gripped onto it with all his might.</p><p>“What?” Hody looked startled, “Where is this strength coming from?”<br/>“You don’t scare me,” Percy grunted, and he spat a gob of blood in Hody’s face.</p><p>“Gah!” Hody wiped Percy’s blood from his eyes, “Prepare to die, little Prince.”</p><p>“HODY!”</p><p>Percy looked blearily over Hody’s shoulder to the deck of the Noah.</p><p>Luffy stood with his arms crossed, ready to challenge the Captain of the New Fishman Pirates.</p><p>“You don’t get to hurt my friends anymore!” he announced, “It’s time for me to kick your ass!”</p><p>“Luffy,” said Percy, sinking back into Shirahoshi’s arms, “It’s about time.”</p><p>“Sorry I’m late,” said Luffy, “Now let’s kick some ass!”</p><p>And like a coiled snake, Luffy sprung at the fishman.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0040"><h2>40. Chapter 40</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Meanwhile, back at Concorde Plaza, Robin was squaring up to face her next opponent, the impossibly large fishman, Wadatsumi.</p><p>Why was Robin, of all people, dealing with this?</p><p>Well, the kraken had been helping, but Wadatsumi took a steroid and knocked her out in one punch.</p><p><em>Mille Fleur! Gigantesco Mano!<br/></em>Robin’s extra giant legs stretched up towards the sky.</p><p>“OW! Lookin good, Robin!”</p><p>“ROBIN-CHWAN!”</p><p><em>Stomp!<br/></em>With a powerful kick, Robin knocked the giant fishman over.</p><p>“Aaah!” Nami shrieked as the shockwave knocked her over.</p><p>“NAMI-SWAN!” cried Sanji, “YOU’LL PAY FOR THAT, ASSHOLE! TAKE ROBIN-CHWAN’S GORGEOUS ATTACK LIKE A MAN!”</p><p>Robin knocked on the Iron General’s Head, “Franky.”</p><p>Franky, her wonderful, funny, kind Franky, didn’t need telling twice. The Iron General lowered Robin to the ground.</p><p>“Giv’em hell, Robin!” Franky cheered, lumbering off to find a new enemy to fight.</p><p>Robin planted herself next to Sanji, “So, what are we to do about this one?”</p><p>“ROBIN-CHWAN!” Sanji greeted, “IT IS AN HONOR AND PLEASURE TO FIGHT BESIDE YOU!”</p><p>“Hang on, Robin-san,” called Jinbe, “I need your help over here!”</p><p>He gestured at the human slaves around him.</p><p>With a small smirk and a wave of her arms, Robin snatched the key ring off the slaver and liberated all the human slaves.</p><p>“We’re free?”</p><p>“Thanks lady!”</p><p>“Let’s giv’em hell!”</p><p>“I’m gonna repay all those beatings tenfold!”</p><p>“Yeah!”</p><p>“Now then,” Robin said calmly, ignoring Sanji’s cheering and turning back to Wadatsumi, “You look much more interesting. Sanji-kun!”</p><p>Sanji’s passion set him ablaze, “You got it, Robin-chwan. Let’s fillet this bastard!”</p><p>Wadatsumi took a giant breath, inflating like a balloon, “How do you like that?”</p><p>“Why is he talking like that, I wonder,” Robin mused.</p><p>“Because I can’t let the air out!” said Wadatsumi, slapping his hands back over his mouth.</p><p>“Sanji-kun?”</p><p>Sanji grinned evilly, “Let’s do it.”</p><p>
  <em>Gigantesco Mano!</em>
</p><p>Sanji perched himself on the heel of Robin’s giant foot. Just as she stomped down, he launched himself off.</p><p>
  <em>Stomp!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Diable Jambe!</em>
</p><p>Like that, Wadatsumi deflated and collapsed, unconscious.</p><p>“The sea will definitely run red with his blood,” Robin decided.</p><p>“ROBIN-CHWAN! YOU’RE HOT EVEN WHEN YOU’RE CREEPY!”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>“I’m gonna stab you to bits-he!” a squid fishman roared, brandishing six spears above his head.</p><p>“If you liked my foot headbutt, you’re gonna love what comes next,” declared a stripey purple fishman.</p><p>Nami and Brook stood back to back, facing one officer each.</p><p>“Brook,” said Nami, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”<br/>“Yohohoho!” said Brook, “You’ll let me see your panties?”</p><p>This earned Brook a Climatact to the head.</p><p>“No, you idiot!” Nami snapped, “What I said before!”<br/>A hauntingly creepy look of delight came over Brook’s face, “Yohohoho! Excellent idea, Nami-san.”</p><p>Putting away his cane sword, Brook pulled out his violin again and began to play.</p><p>“What is this?” demanded the stripey one, “I hate music!”</p><p>Nami opened her mouth and began to sing. She was nowhere near as accomplished at this as her sister, Piper was, but she’d done nothing but practice for two years.</p><p>Mist swirled at their feet as Nami spun a tale of betrayal through her music. The daughter of the love goddess loaded every note with as much charmspeak as she could muster while Brook accompanied her, using his violin to channel the Mist.</p><p>Wordlessly, the squid and the stripey one turned on each other, fighting viciously until both were barely alive.</p><p>“Any last words?” Nami leaned over the squid’s face.</p><p>“How do you like the little prince’s makeover?” the squid gasped, “I figured he should look more like us, you know?”</p><p>Rage flared in Nami’s soul. So this was the fishman that did that to Percy’s teeth?</p><p>Nami stuck her Climatact on the squid’s head.</p><p><em>Black Ball,</em> she whispered viciously, <em>Thunder Tempo</em></p><p>and she fried the squid’s brains, finally rendering the fishman unconscious.</p><p>“That was delightfully violent,” Brook clapped.</p><p>“Thanks?” Nami said questioningly.</p><p>“Can I see your panties now?” Brook asked hopefully.</p><p>“NO!”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>“You done yet, Chopper?” called Usopp.</p><p>Chopper sprung out of a hole in the ground, “Yeah! Let’er rip!”</p><p><em>Skull Exploding Grass!<br/></em>Fire billowed from the tunnels, shooting a tiny, unconscious fishman out of the tunnels in a plume of distruction.</p><p>“Yeah!” Usopp and Chopper high-fived.</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>The octopus fishman was kind of creeping Zoro out.</p><p>and he LOVED it. He was starting to get bored of those weaklings that he could beat without trying, all with his breathing handicap.</p><p>But this swordsman was strong, there was no doubt about that.</p><p>“AHAHAHA!” the octo fish giggled drunkenly, “You’re a lot stronger than before.”</p><p>Any swordsman that didn’t take his craft seriously enough to practice it sober wasn’t worthy of talking to Zoro while they fought. Zoro decided he’d shut him up in one shot.</p><p><em>Santoryu Purgatory Oni Giri!<br/></em>The swordsman fell in a hail of blood.</p><p>Zoro sheathed his swords, “Huh, guess you weren’t worth my time after all.”</p><p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Luffy was really tired of fighting in the water.</p><p>First Hody had popped his bubble and that sucked. Then Fukaboshi tossed him aside as easily as if he were a beach ball, into Shirahoshi’s waiting hands.</p><p>“Luffy,” said Shirahoshi, “I hope that wasn’t too rough, are you ok?”</p><p>“I’m fine,” Luffy grunted, “What’s he doing?”</p><p>“My brothers and sister are giving their lives to protect this island,” said Fukaboshi, “I would lose my pride as a son of Neptune if I didn’t do the same!”</p><p>Fukaboshi shot a powerful jet of water at Hody. Luffy had seen Percy do this enough times to know how fast that attack was, but Hody sidestepped it easily.</p><p>“How is he so strong?” Luffy bit out, “I thought Zoro took him down in one hit before!”</p><p>“Steroids,” whispered Percy, breathing hard.</p><p>“Percy-nii!” said Shirahoshi, “Don’t talk; just focus on healing.”</p><p>Luffy knelt by Percy, cradled lovingly in Shirahoshi’s hands. Blood seeped from a three-pronged stab wound in Percy’s chest, sending chills through Luffy’s heart. If he wasn’t careful, Percy’s wound would pull Luffy into another-</p><p>A boney hand rose shakily to clutch at Luffy’s shirt, grounding Luffy back in the present.<br/>“You’re here now,” Percy rasped, “Not there; you’re here.”</p><p>Luffy gulped, “Y-yeah. I know.”</p><p>Percy went back to focusing on breathing.</p><p>“Fukaboshi-nii!” Shirahoshi cried.</p><p>Luffy cursed. While he’d been focused on Percy, Hody had used his shark fin to stab Fukaboshi and toss him behind a mangrove root.</p><p>“Vander Decken is finally dead,” Hody said triumphantly, “The Noah will fall and crush Fishman Island!”</p><p>“No!” cried Shirahoshi.</p><p>“Damn it!” Luffy cursed. Sure enough, the Noah had stopped following Shirahoshi and Percy, and had begun to sink towards Fishman Island.</p><p>“Father!” cried Ryuboshi.</p><p>“It’s father!” said Mamboshi.</p><p>Poseidon, easily thrice the size of the Noah, sporting three, massive, brilliantly blue tails, charged from Fishman Island and caught the ship with his bear hands.</p><p>“I’ll hold it off!” he boomed, “My children, Strawhat Luffy, you must hurry; I don’t have the power to hold the Noah for long!”</p><p>Prup! Prup!<br/>Luffy pulled a ringing Den Den Mushi out of his pocket.</p><p>“Fukaboshi,” said Luffy, “You ok?”<br/><em>“Near death, but that doesn’t matter right now,” </em>said Fukaboshi, <em>“Percy, can you hear me?”</em></p><p>Percy grunted in reply, squirting blood on Luffy’s shorts.</p><p>
  <em>“Do it.”</em>
</p><p>Percy’s eyes, scrunched tight in pain, shot open, glowing a bright, eerie blue, and he gasped.</p><p>“Look!” said Shirahoshi, pointing at the Noah. Luffy watched as an enormous bubble stretched around the Noah.</p><p>“Percy’s doing that?” Luffy asked in amazement.</p><p>Shirahoshi held Percy tight, looking into his glowing, unseeing blue eyes, “Yes, so you must hurry, Luffy! He can’t hold it forever!”</p><p>“Got it,” said Luffy, “Hold tight Percy; I’m gonna go kick Hody’s ass.”</p><p>Luffy wasn’t sure Percy could hear him.</p><p>“What are you waiting for, Strawhat?” Hody sneered, “You can try to stop the Noah, but you’ll have to get through me first!”</p><p><em>Second Gear </em>Luffy snarled, <em>Gum Gum Snake Shot</em></p><p>“You think I’m dumb enough to fall for that twice?” said Hody, and he sunk his teeth into Luffy’s shoulder.</p><p>“Gah!” Luffy cried out, but he had no time to spare, so he took his other fist and used it to send Hody flying into Percy’s bubble.</p><p>“Let’s end this, Hody!” Luffy shouted, swimming into the bubble himself, “I’m gonna kick your ass!”</p><p><em> “Strawhat! Erase our past! Set us back to zero!” </em>Fukaboshi’s voice echoed across the Noah, <em>“Eradicate the shadows cast by our grudge so that we may see the light!”</em></p><p>“Trust me and let me do it my way,” Luffy promised, thinking of Percy and of Shirahoshi, and Shirahoshi’s mother. Their wishes couldn’t be in vain; Fishman Island would be healed.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0041"><h2>41. Chapter 41</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which Luffy faces Hody</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>O.N.E. P.I.E.C.E.</p><p>Luffy didn’t know much about drugs, but he was of the firm opinion that Hody should have overdosed by now, with all the energy steroids he’d taken.</p><p>He sure looked different though. He was at least three times Luffy’s size now, and probably just as fast.</p><p>Hody shot at Luffy and bit into his shoulder again.</p><p>It hurt like a bitch, but Luffy still pushed through the pain, hardening his arm with haki and punching Hody backwards.</p><p>“Gah!” Luffy pulled the new set of teeth, which was now at least the length of Luffy’s torso, out of his shoulder.</p><p>“That’s enough, Strawhat,” said Hody, “I was divinly blessed to punish humans. I’ve surpassed the power of humans and fishmen. No one can stop me!”</p><p>“Didn’t you hear me before?” Luffy growled, “I’ll protect Shirahoshi, and this island.”<br/>“Oh, Luffy,” said Shirahoshi, clutching Percy tighter, “He’s bleeding.”</p><p>“Because I made a promise to my friend!” said Luffy, “I promised Percy I’d protect Shirahoshi, and this island! So there’s no way you can beat me!”</p><p>“You humans are so stubborn,” Hody scoffed, “You’re more likely to get yourselfs killed then admit how weak you are.”</p><p>Hody gestured around them at the bubble, “Jackson is a grade above you, I’ll admit, but he’s still half-human. If he survives today, he’ll make an excellent personal slave!”</p><p>“LEAVE MY SON ALONE, IMPUDENT FISHMAN!”</p><p>Hot air blasted Luffy in the face, but Poseidon seemed to be too preoccupied holding up the Noah to do much more than shout.</p><p>“Even our so-called God is too weak to face me,” Hody sneered.</p><p>Even Luffy knew enough about the Gods now to know that that comment alone would probably commit Hody to an eternity of punishment.</p><p>“Look I’m kind of in a hurry,” said Luffy, “Can we wrap this up already?”</p><p>“Be my guest,” said Hody.</p><p>“Weepy-Hoshi, take Percy and get out of here,” Luffy ordered, “Keep him close enough to maintain the bubble, though.”<br/>“Right!” said Shirahoshi, shooting up towards the surface.</p><p>Luffy ran at Hody as the fishman sent water shark after water shark at him. Hody was quick, but Luffy’s Observation Haki was more than enough to dodge the sharks.</p><p>That was, until three of them cornered him.</p><p>“Luffy!” cried Shirahoshi from where she and her four brothers swam/laid in her arms, watching the fight.</p><p>“Please, no!” said Fukaboshi.</p><p>Luffy flew backwards down the ship, seemingly unconscious (or dead) before inflating his arm.</p><p>
  <em>Third Gear!</em>
</p><p>His arm stretched to the size of several large cars and he flew at Hody, using gravity to move in the air.</p><p>
  <em>Armament Hardening!</em>
</p><p>His arm turned pitch-black, hardened with haki.</p><p>“How much does it take?” Hody bit, “Insolent fool!” and he shot more sharks at Luffy.</p><p>
  <em>Gum Gum Elephant Gun!</em>
</p><p>The two attacks met in a furious clash of strength.</p><p>“Just give up already,” snapped Hody, “Human strength can never best me.”</p><p>“SHUT UP!” Luffy roared, “I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!”</p><p>Luffy’s Elephant Gun blasted Hody away, sending him flying down the Noah to smash into the galley.</p><p>“I’m not done yet!” Luffy announced, blowing up his other arm too and hardening it.</p><p><em>Gum Gum Elephant Gattling!<br/></em>Luffy pummeled Hody until he was sure he’d broken so many bones in the fishman’s body that he wouldn’t be able to get back up again.</p><p>“He did it!”</p><p>“Strawhat beat him!”</p><p>“Hody is down!”</p><p>Luffy fumbled with his bubbly coral before putting a new bubble around himself and slipping out of the ship’s range.</p><p>“You can put it down now, old God guy!” said Luffy.</p><p>“Gladly,” said Poseidon, lowering the Noah to the sea floor, “As for you, Hody.”</p><p>Hody glowed blue before shrinking into a tiny shrimp. Poseidon leaned in and blew him out into the Deep Sea with one breath.</p><p>“No one messes with my kids,” said Poseidon, “Speaking of, Percy! You can let it go now!”</p><p>From his position in Shirahoshi’s arms, Percy sighed, and the bubble popped. Percy’s glowing blue eyes rolled back in his head and he finally sunk into unconsciousness.</p><p>“Percy!” cried Luffy.</p><p>“I’ve got him now, Shirahoshi, darling,” said Poseidon. Wordlessly (Luffy wasn’t sure, but Shirahoshi seemed a little stunned at her father’s Greek form), Shirahoshi passed her brother to their father.</p><p>“He’s alright, Monkey d Luffy,” the Sea God assured him, “He just needs time to heal.”</p><p>“I saw that hit,” said Luffy, “He should be dead.”</p><p>Poseidon’s gaze turned sad, “Ah, yes, Percy told me about your brother. This must bring back bad memories. But no, Percy is my son; spending enough time in the sea will heal him, no matter how grievous the injury.</p><p>“Oh,” said Luffy, “That’s good. Can you bring him back to the island?”</p><p>Poseidon held out a tanned hand, “Hop on.”</p><p>Luffy and the Royal Family returned to Concorde Plaza amidst cheers and cries of concern.</p><p>“He did it!”</p><p>“Strawhat Luffy beat Hody!”</p><p>“Look at Prince Perseus!”</p><p>“He isn’t dead, is he?”<br/>“NO! NOT THE PRINCE!”</p><p>“He’s fine,” Poseidon reassured Percy’s worried friends as they landed, “He just needs rest and-,”</p><p>Poseidon lost all train of thought when Monkey d Luffy hit the ground running, straight into the arms of a green-haired, shirtless man with three swords.</p><p>“Luffy, what-,”<br/>“Shut up,” said Luffy, throwing his arms around Zoro and finally, pulling him into a kiss.</p><p>The fishmen and merfolk watching from above broke into loud and raucous cheers.</p><p>“They did it!”</p><p>“We’re safe!”</p><p>Franky climbed out of his Iron General, twirled Robin in a circle and brought her in for a kiss, Robin giggling the whole time.</p><p>“Nami-swan? Are you alright?”<br/>Nami glanced at Sanji, so earnest and kind, and decided what the heck? Her birth mom was probably right anyway.</p><p>Leaning in, Nami planted a kiss on Sanji’s cheek, “Just thinking-uh, Sanji? Sanji? Chopper! Come quick!”</p><p>Nami hovered frantically around Sanji, the latter of whom had succeeded in once again turning himself to stone.</p><p>Luffy and Zoro broke apart.</p><p>“I’ve been waiting to do that for two years,” Luffy grinned.</p><p>“’Bout time,” Zoro said gruffly, his cheeks as pink as Shirahoshi’s hair,“Now, let’s go celebrate!”</p><p>“YEAH!” cheered the Strawhat Pirates.</p><p>Poseidon chuckled fondly, “Percy, you certainly do have strange friends. But I’m so glad you met them.”</p><p>But of course, there was no way he’d ever tell Hera that. His sister would take all the credit; she was insufferable that way.</p><p>There was no harm in Poseidon thinking it, though.</p><p>
  <em>Well done, child</em>
</p><p>Shirahoshi started, looking up in the sky. The glowing yellow eyes of a sea king peered back at her from the Deep Sea.</p><p><em>But, I didn’t do anything… </em>said Shirahoshi.</p><p>
  <em>Your will to save your people called out to us</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Yes, even though we were too late to help, the power of the Sea Kings shall always be at your beck and call</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Those are quite the humans, aren’t they?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Speaking of, that one looks rather ill.</em>
</p><p>Shirahoshi gasped, watching as Luffy collapsed in Zoro’s arms.</p><p>“Luffy? Luffy! Chopper!”</p><p><em>Go to them, child. </em>urged the sea king.</p><p>
  <em>Our Lord is not well versed in human anatomy</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Yes, check on your brother as well</em>
</p><p>Shirahoshi didn’t need telling twice.</p><p>“Luffy! Percy!”</p><p>“I can stop the bleeding,” Chopper said while working on Luffy, “But he’ll need a blood donor.”</p><p>“Ah,” said Poseidon, laying Percy out next to Luffy, “Perhaps I am mistaken in saying that my son will be fine; he should have woken up by now.”</p><p>“Percy definitely needs a blood donor,” said Chopper, “His blood type’s O-, right?”</p><p>“I’m O-!” Franky said eagerly, “Take mine!”</p><p>“Not so fast,” said Poseidon, “Demigods are only half-human; they can’t accept blood from mortals; only from each other.”</p><p>Nami plopped down next to Percy, thrusting out her arm for Chopper to prick her, “Say no more. I’m O- too; I’ll donate for Percy.”<br/>The kingdom breathed a sigh of relief.</p><p>“But Luffy still needs a donor!” said Usopp, “And none of us are type F!”</p><p>“Please! Can somebody help Luffy?” Zoro shouted desperately, never letting go of Luffy’s hand.</p><p>But the law against donating to humans still instilled too much fear in the residents of Fishman Island. No one stepped forward.</p><p>“I’m not type F, but my blood is red!” Shirahoshi cried, “Can I help?”<br/>“That’s not really helpful, but I appreciate the sentiment,” said Chopper.</p><p>Jinbe stood forward, “You can take my blood; it’s type F.”</p><p>“YEAH!”</p><p>“HOORAY!”</p><p>Everyone cheered as Jinbe and Nami donated blood. Percy still wasn’t awake, but Luffy sighed and smiled, giving Zoro’s hand a squeeze.</p><p>“Jinbe…” he said softly.</p><p>“Humph,” said Jinbe, “You were awake this whole time, then?”</p><p>“You should join my crew.”</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0042"><h2>42. 42</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>In which the Strawhats party without Percy</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>P.E.R.C.Y. J.A.C.K.S.O.N.</p><p>Percy awoke sometime later to Luffy trying to shove a barrel of blue coke down his throat.</p><p>“Gah! What the Hades, Luffy?”</p><p>“You’re awake!” Luffy grinned, “I’m so glad!”</p><p>“Welcome back to the land of the living,” Zoro greeted him.</p><p>“Where are we?” asked Percy, still disoriented.</p><p>“At the party, of course!” said Luffy.</p><p>“No we’re not, dummy,” Zoro chastised his captain, “We’re in the infirmary; the party’s downstairs.”</p><p>Percy highly doubted that Luffy or Zoro would willingly leave an opportunity to gouge on meat and booze just for Percy’s sake.</p><p>“I see,” Percy said shrewdly, “You’re hiding from Chopper.”</p><p>Luffy deflated a little bit and Zoro laughed, “More like Chopper threatened no more meat or booze if we didn’t come up here and rest.”</p><p>Luffy leaned happily against Zoro’s chest, “I’m not complaining.”</p><p>“That’s because you snuck out snacks,” Zoro pointed out.</p><p>Luffy held up a takeout bag, “Kaimi helped!” he said proudly, “What are you in the mood for, Percy?”</p><p>The three boys sat in a circle on the ground, munching on sea king and candies and catching each other up on the past 2 years.</p><p>“I gotta confess,” said Percy, “After the war, I went back to school to finish my senior year; I didn’t come back here until two months ago.”</p><p>“So you took a break,” Luffy waved him off, “School’s kind of like training, right?”</p><p>“I guess so…” said Percy, “Did you really train under Mihawk? That must’ve been humbling.”</p><p>“I’d do anything for Luffy,” Zoro declared, making Luffy grin, “Plus now I’m just that much closer to kicking Mihawk’s ass.”</p><p>“Before, you said something about your girlfriend,” said Luffy, “and your other friends. They’re here somewhere?”</p><p>Percy went quiet.</p><p>“Touchy subject,” Zoro guessed, taking a swig of his sake.</p><p>“Nah, it’s ok,” said Percy, “We were all coming to fishman island when the others got blown off course. My dad says that’s pretty normal on the Grand Line; even his blessing couldn’t keep us all together. I don’t know where they are, but they should all be in the New World.”</p><p>“How many of them are we looking for?” asked Luffy.</p><p>Percy was glad that Luffy trusted him enough to not berate him for bringing his friends to the Four Seas without Luffy’s consent. Luffy was still a really special person.</p><p>“Five,” he said at last.</p><p>“That’s a lot of people to find,” Zoro commented idly.</p><p>“Then you mustn’t waste any time.”</p><p>“Hey old God guy!” Luffy greeted Poseidon cheerfully.</p><p>“I still don’t believe in Gods,” Percy heard Zoro mutter grumpily in Luffy’s ear. Percy was glad that Poseidon chose to ignore that.</p><p>“Monkey d Luffy,” said Poseidon, “Roronoa Zoro, I am glad you are recovered. I owe you a debt of gratitude for your aid in saving this island.”</p><p>Poseidon lowered himself to the ground next to Percy, “I owe you a further debt of gratitude for befriending my son.”</p><p>Percy’s nose went pink, “Stop it, dad.”</p><p>“Don’t mention it,” Zoro said casually, “You want us to leave you alone?”</p><p>“That would be kind,” Poseidon agreed, “And I see you two have much to discuss, alone.”</p><p>Luffy and Zoro shared a look that reminded Percy far too much of himself and Annabeth.</p><p>“Yeah,” said Luffy, “Let’s get out of here.”</p><p>Luffy scooped Zoro up, bridal style, and sped out of the room, cackling madly all while Zoro demanded that Luffy put him down.</p><p>“You don’t have many mortal friends, do you?” Poseidon guessed, “Even your mortal friends are strange.”</p><p>“Strange isn’t so bad,” said Percy, “Annabeth is strange.”</p><p>“Yes, on the subject of Annabeth,” said Poseidon, “Her mother tells me she is still alive.”<br/>A flicker of hope blossomed in Percy’s chest, “And you’re sure she’s in the New World? They all are?”</p><p>“Yes,” said Poseidon, “And I suggest you depart in the morning to look for them.”</p><p>“You don’t want me staying around here,” Percy guessed, already disappointed, “I get it.”</p><p>Poseidon put a warm hand on Percy’s shoulder, “It’s not that, son. You know I love having you here. It’s…well, it’s best if you see for yourself.”</p><p>Poseidon handed Percy a neatly-folded piece of paper. Unfolding it with hands trembling from exhaustion, Percy read the wanted poster.</p><p>WANTED</p><p>EARTHSHAKER PERSEUS JACKSON</p><p>100 MILLION BERRIES</p><p>ONLY DEAD</p><p>“Only Dead, huh?” said Percy, “This must be about the gateway to the rest of the world.”</p><p>“I’d imagine so,” Poseidon agreed, “Which is why you cannot remain here. Your friends know the truth as well; if the Navy catches them…”</p><p>“Annabeth isn’t weak,” Percy insisted, “Neither are the others. But you’re right, dad; we’ll set out in the morning.”</p><p>“For now, my boy, you must rest,” said Poseidon, helping Percy back into bed, “You will need your full strength to face the New World. And Percy?”</p><p>Percy hummed sleepily.</p><p>“I am so very proud of you,” Poseidon said warmly, “You saved my kingdom and your friends. You will do great things in the New World; I just know it.”</p><p>“Of course I will,” Percy yawned, watching as his father retreated out of the infirmary, “How else am I going to help Luffy become King of the Pirates?”</p>
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